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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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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. snap — to click
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. land — a country

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