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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: lash · pop · cap · snap · net · chair · racket · bat

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — soda
  3. net — for catching
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cap — of ice
  9. chair — a leader
  10. net — in sport
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cap — a hat
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pop — music
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. pop — to visit
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cap — a lid
  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