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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: race · saw · hand · net · content · snap · mine · spell

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. content — the amount
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. snap — to click
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hand — help
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. net — after costs
  15. content — happy
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. spell — letters
  18. net — in sport
  19. mine — for digging
  20. hand — in cards
  21. spell — magic
  22. race — humankind
  23. spell — a short time
  24. content — videos and posts

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