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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. shower — rain
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to click
  13. land — to come down
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — low music
  18. fork — to eat with

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