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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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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. rule — a law
  6. capital — a city
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. perch — the fish
  11. net — after costs
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rule — government
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. capital — money
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. rule — to rule out

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