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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · net · snap · chest · racket · spring · clip · roll

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. chest — of your body
  3. can — to be able to
  4. spring — a coil
  5. net — for catching
  6. chest — a box
  7. spring — of water
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. clip — for paper
  12. can — a tin
  13. roll — a cake
  14. chest — of your body
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. clip — to cut
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. snap — to click
  20. net — after costs
  21. clip — a video
  22. roll — a list
  23. net — in sport
  24. can — a tin

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