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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: net · can · wake · mark · snap · swing · cold · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mark — a grade
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. swing — to play on
  7. net — in sport
  8. swing — music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wake — a trail
  11. snap — to click
  12. can — a tin
  13. net — after costs
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mark — a trace
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. swing — in golf
  21. net — for catching
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. wake — before a funeral

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