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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: ball · club · net · present · snap · wave · root · file

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. present — a gift
  3. net — after costs
  4. file — a tool
  5. snap — to click
  6. root — the cause
  7. ball — a great time
  8. root — of a plant
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. root — of a word
  11. file — a line of people
  12. present — there
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. net — for catching
  15. club — for dancing
  16. present — the time now
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. club — for golf
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. net — in sport
  23. file — a document
  24. wave — with your hand

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