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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: snap · wake · stick · hide · squash · net · bulb · degree

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. squash — the sport
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wake — a trail
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. net — for catching
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bulb — for light
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. snap — to click
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bulb — for light
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. squash — to crush

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