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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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. land — a country
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. rule — government
  5. band — a ring
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. rule — a law
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. snap — to click
  18. land — to come down
  19. shower — to wash
  20. land — ground
  21. shower — rain
  22. bore — to tire
  23. band — a music group
  24. rule — to rule out

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