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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: sharp · spring · chest · net · chip · bulb · mug · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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. bulb — for light
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spring — the season
  5. net — in sport
  6. sharp — clever
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chest — of your body
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. mug — a cup
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. mug — a face
  21. chest — a box
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spring — of water
  24. mug — to rob

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