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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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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: lean · kick · snap · net · jam · track · cold · bowl

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  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. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. track — a song
  6. net — after costs
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. kick — in football
  9. snap — to click
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. track — a path
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. track — to keep track
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. net — in sport
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cold — an illness
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. lean — thin
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  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