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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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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wake — a trail
  3. face — to confront
  4. land — to come down
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. face — part of the head
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. current — happening now
  10. face — to point toward
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. land — ground
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. snap — to click
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. land — a country
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. mine — for digging
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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