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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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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: club · net · wind · bark · kid · lean · snap · present

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. present — a gift
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — for catching
  7. wind — moving air
  8. snap — to click
  9. kid — child
  10. club — a group
  11. net — after costs
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. present — the time now
  15. club — for dancing
  16. lean — thin
  17. club — for golf
  18. present — there
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. lean — to bend
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. net — in sport

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