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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 120 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: rock · mark · chest · net · stand · tube · snap · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. snap — to click
  3. net — after costs
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. chest — of your body
  6. squash — to crush
  7. net — for catching
  8. squash — the sport
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stand — to bear
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. mark — a trace
  16. tube — a container
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mark — a grade
  22. net — in sport
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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