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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: content · snap · lean · bore · net · kid · bark · file

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. net — after costs
  3. file — a tool
  4. net — in sport
  5. lean — to bend
  6. net — for catching
  7. file — a document
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. kid — to tease
  10. content — the amount
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. content — happy
  14. bore — to tire
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. file — a line of people
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. lean — thin

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