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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · game · net · snap · lie · straw · trunk · hand

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. net — for catching
  11. lie — to recline
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pit — a hole
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. net — in sport
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pit — in a race
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. snap — to click
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. net — after costs
  24. game — a kind of play

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