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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. 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. snap — to click
  2. game — wild animals
  3. can — a tin
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. current — happening now
  6. pop — to visit
  7. can — to be able to
  8. present — the time now
  9. can — a tin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — there
  13. land — ground
  14. pop — soda
  15. land — to come down
  16. current — of water
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. current — electric
  19. wound — an injury
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pop — music
  23. game — a match
  24. 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