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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: cell · spring · sharp · racket · bay · snap · stand · fine

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. fine — all right
  4. stand — to bear
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. spring — of water
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. fine — high quality
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. sharp — clever
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. spring — the season
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. racket — for tennis

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