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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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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: hand · row · mark · march · snap · ball · capital · net

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. march — the month
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — a line
  8. march — music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. snap — to click
  13. net — for catching
  14. hand — in cards
  15. ball — a great time
  16. net — in sport
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mark — a grade
  19. capital — a city
  20. ball — a dance
  21. hand — help
  22. net — after costs
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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