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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: bat · jam · cue · stem · foot · net · wound · snap

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cue — a signal
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. net — in sport
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bat — the animal
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cue — for pool
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cue — a hint
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stem — a stem cell

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