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

Word bank: bay · net · wind · mate · game · snap · cap · trunk

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cap — of ice
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. mate — to breed
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cap — a hat
  14. net — for catching
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mate — a partner
  19. game — a match
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wind — moving air

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