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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 116 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: snap · saw · perch · hand · rock · mine · net · court

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. net — in sport
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — of law
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. net — for catching
  9. court — of a king
  10. rock — a stone
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. saw — the tool
  14. hand — in cards
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. snap — to click
  18. hand — help
  19. perch — the fish
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. net — after costs
  22. rock — music
  23. court — for sport
  24. hand — part of the body

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