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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: net · mine · bank · chest · charge · fall · track · snap

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bank — for money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. charge — a price
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. chest — of your body
  7. track — a song
  8. charge — in control
  9. net — in sport
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. net — for catching
  15. fall — to drop
  16. charge — electricity
  17. fall — the season
  18. chest — a box
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bank — for money
  21. fall — to drop
  22. track — a path
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mine — belonging to me

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