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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 116 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: bore · calf · saw · snap · stem · net · bass · game

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. net — for catching
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bass — low music
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. net — in sport
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stem — to come from
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bass — the instrument

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