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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: track · staff · straw · net · wound · lean · snap · bulb

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. track — to keep track
  8. net — for catching
  9. staff — employees
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bulb — for light
  12. track — a song
  13. bulb — for light
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. net — in sport
  16. lean — thin
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. staff — employees
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. staff — a stick
  24. track — a path

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