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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bound — obliged
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bound — tied together
  6. net — after costs
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bound — certain
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kick — in football
  12. net — in sport
  13. press — a publisher
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. net — for catching
  16. press — newspapers
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. press — to push
  19. hand — in cards
  20. snap — to click
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mark — a trace

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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