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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: fall · root · safe · ground · content · net · band · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. net — in sport
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — crushed
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. band — a music group
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. root — of a word
  12. net — for catching
  13. fall — to drop
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. ground — the earth
  16. band — a ring
  17. root — of a plant
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. root — the cause
  20. net — after costs
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ground — a position
  24. fall — the season

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