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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. kid — to tease
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. net — after costs
  6. press — to push
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. press — newspapers
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. mark — a trace
  14. net — in sport
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. press — a publisher
  17. net — for catching
  18. kid — child
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. game — a match
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mark — a grade
  24. pound — to hit hard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com