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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: kick · snap · plane · net · wave · land · pop · cell

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. land — ground
  3. pop — soda
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pop — music
  6. snap — to click
  7. plane — a tool
  8. pop — to visit
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. land — to come down
  14. net — after costs
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. land — a country
  21. net — in sport
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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