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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: band · lean · snap · net · craft · foot · wake · tear

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. snap — to click
  3. foot — a measure
  4. net — in sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. tear — from crying
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. lean — to bend
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. craft — a skill
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. band — a music group
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. craft — boats
  24. wake — a trail

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