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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: cap · pit · cue · land · row · stock · snap · net

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. snap — to click
  3. land — to come down
  4. stock — shares
  5. cue — for pool
  6. net — for catching
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cap — of ice
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cap — a lid
  11. row — a line
  12. stock — goods
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cap — a hat
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. row — to paddle
  17. land — a country
  18. net — after costs
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cue — a hint
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. net — in sport
  24. pit — in a race

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