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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: hand · field · snap · row · fan · pop · net · bay

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pop — soda
  4. row — to paddle
  5. net — for catching
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — a subject
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. row — a line
  11. field — farmland
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. net — in sport
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. snap — to click
  17. hand — help
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. field — for sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — music
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. pop — to visit

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