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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 116 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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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spring — of water
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. net — for catching
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cold — not warm
  16. board — to get on
  17. spring — a coil
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. spring — the season
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. board — a committee
  22. kick — in football
  23. pitch — completely
  24. cold — an illness

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