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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: net · season · wound · pass · last · snap · racket · mouse

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. season — of the year
  6. last — to go on
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. net — for catching
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. net — after costs
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. season — in sport
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. last — finally
  23. net — in sport
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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