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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: squash · net · prune · leaves · nail · snap · ball · game

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. net — after costs
  5. ball — a dance
  6. squash — to crush
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. squash — the sport
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. net — for catching
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. game — wild animals
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. ball — a great time
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. net — in sport
  23. game — a match
  24. prune — to trim

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