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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. snap — to click
  3. land — a country
  4. wind — moving air
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. firm — steady
  7. land — ground
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. firm — decided
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. land — to come down
  16. press — newspapers
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. firm — a company
  19. wind — moving air
  20. press — to push
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. game — wild animals
  24. press — a publisher

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