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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 · snap · bowl · stem · cap · bear · wound · rest

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. net — for catching
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cap — of ice
  14. snap — to click
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cap — a hat
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rest — a break
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. stem — a stem cell

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