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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 120 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 · net · spring · charge · deal · clip · stock · saw

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — in control
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. clip — a video
  8. deal — to handle
  9. clip — to cut
  10. net — in sport
  11. stock — shares
  12. spring — the season
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. charge — electricity
  16. spring — a coil
  17. clip — for paper
  18. snap — to click
  19. net — for catching
  20. stock — goods
  21. spring — of water
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. saw — the tool

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