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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: net · lie · season · bat · cap · pop · bark · snap

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. season — in sport
  3. snap — to click
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. net — after costs
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pop — music
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bat — the animal
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. lie — to recline
  24. net — for catching

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