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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to click
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mine — for digging
  7. land — ground
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. lean — thin
  12. land — to come down
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lean — to bend
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mark — a grade
  19. game — wild animals
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. game — a match
  22. land — a country
  23. wound — an injury
  24. nail — on a finger

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