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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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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: net · bore · snap · pop · row · fan · sharp · fall

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bore — to tire
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pop — to visit
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pop — music
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. pop — soda
  12. row — to paddle
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. row — a line
  15. net — for catching
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. net — in sport
  22. bore — to drill
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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