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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: bank · net · snap · cold · plane · racket · land · deal

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. deal — to handle
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. land — a country
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. land — ground
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cold — an illness
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bank — for money
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — to come down
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bank — of a river
  22. snap — to click
  23. net — in sport
  24. bank — for money

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