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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 124 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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Word bank
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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. land — ground
  3. key — the most important part
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. current — of water
  6. key — for a lock
  7. snap — to click
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. field — for sport
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. field — farmland
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — electric
  18. land — a country
  19. hand — in cards
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. key — in music
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. field — a subject
  24. land — to come down

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