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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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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: snap · chest · net · firm · mine · arm · scale · stick

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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. arm — part of the body
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. chest — a box
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mine — for digging
  8. snap — to click
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. firm — steady
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. firm — decided
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. scale — in music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. net — in sport
  24. firm — a company

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