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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: stock · snap · pop · clip · net · mouse · tear · squash

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pop — soda
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. net — after costs
  7. tear — to rip
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pop — to visit
  10. tear — from crying
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. squash — the sport
  13. stock — goods
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pop — music
  16. net — for catching
  17. stock — shares
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. snap — to click
  21. clip — a video
  22. net — in sport
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. tear — from crying

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