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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: racket · snap · clip · leaves · drill · net · ground · bulb

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. drill — army training
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bulb — for light
  8. drill — the tool
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. clip — for paper
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. ground — a position
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. net — in sport
  19. ground — the earth
  20. net — for catching
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. net — after costs
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bulb — for light

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