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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: snap · clip · root · net · coach · last · stock · game

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stock — goods
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. last — final
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. game — wild animals
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. net — in sport
  10. root — the cause
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. net — after costs
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. last — finally
  16. stock — shares
  17. last — to go on
  18. root — of a word
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. clip — for paper
  21. root — of a plant
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. net — for catching
  24. game — a match

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