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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. wind — moving air
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. staff — employees
  12. mug — to rob
  13. snap — to click
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mug — a cup
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. staff — a stick
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mug — a face
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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