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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. saw — the tool
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. root — the cause
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mark — a trace
  15. root — of a plant
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pound — a weight
  18. clip — a video
  19. root — of a word
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. snap — to click
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — an explosive

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