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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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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: saw · mine · snap · foot · content · sharp · net · last

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mine — for digging
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. snap — to click
  6. last — to go on
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. saw — the tool
  10. net — in sport
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. foot — a measure
  13. sharp — clever
  14. net — for catching
  15. saw — the tool
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. content — the amount
  21. net — after costs
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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