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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: roll · clip · fall · snap · bore · race · net · key

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. net — after costs
  3. race — a contest
  4. roll — a cake
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. net — in sport
  7. snap — to click
  8. key — for a lock
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. race — the arms race
  13. key — in music
  14. roll — a list
  15. fall — the season
  16. net — for catching
  17. bore — to drill
  18. clip — a video
  19. race — humankind
  20. key — the most important part
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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