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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 120 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: snap · race · hide · march · lean · mug · wound · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. net — after costs
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. race — humankind
  9. lean — thin
  10. race — the arms race
  11. net — for catching
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — a face
  14. snap — to click
  15. march — the month
  16. race — a contest
  17. lean — to bend
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. mug — to rob
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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