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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: cold · fine · snap · net · firm · hand

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. hand — in cards
  3. firm — a company
  4. net — after costs
  5. hand — help
  6. net — in sport
  7. fine — high quality
  8. firm — steady
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. net — for catching
  14. firm — decided
  15. snap — to click
  16. fine — all right
  17. cold — an illness
  18. hand — part of the body

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