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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: game · cabinet · tear · snap · wound · net · pass · season

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. season — of the year
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. pass — a permit
  8. net — in sport
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. game — a match
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. net — for catching
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. game — wild animals
  23. season — in sport
  24. pass — to succeed

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