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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: snap · kick · spring · arm · net · nail · file · kid

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spring — of water
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. spring — a coil
  9. kick — in football
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — in sport
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. net — after costs
  18. file — a line of people
  19. net — for catching
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. snap — to click
  24. kick — with a leg

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