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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: bay · cabinet · snap · rush · track · net · swing · content

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. snap — to click
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. net — after costs
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. content — happy
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. content — the amount
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. track — to keep track
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rush — hurry
  21. swing — music
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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