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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: fall · snap · game · net · band · pit · root · plane

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. fall — to drop
  3. plane — a tool
  4. net — for catching
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. snap — to click
  8. band — a music group
  9. net — after costs
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pit — a hole
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. game — a match
  18. fall — to drop
  19. net — in sport
  20. pit — in a race
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. band — a ring
  23. fall — the season
  24. plane — in geometry

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