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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: rock · net · snap · hand · wound · calf · pit · hide

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. rock — music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pit — a hole
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — after costs
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. net — for catching
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. net — in sport
  20. snap — to click
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. pit — in a race
  24. rock — a stone

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