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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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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: snap · prune · key · wake · court · kid · net · race

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. net — after costs
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. key — in music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to click
  9. net — in sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. prune — to trim
  13. race — a contest
  14. court — for sport
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. race — the arms race
  17. net — for catching
  18. court — of law
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. kid — to tease
  23. race — humankind
  24. prune — the fruit

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