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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: lash · patient · net · scale · fall · mark · snap · object

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fall — to drop
  4. scale — size or range
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. object — to protest
  8. snap — to click
  9. net — after costs
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. net — for catching
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. fall — the season
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. net — in sport
  20. mark — a trace
  21. object — a thing
  22. scale — in music
  23. mark — a grade
  24. object — an aim

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