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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. snap — to click
  3. charge — a price
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. land — ground
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. land — to come down
  9. last — final
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bore — to drill
  13. last — finally
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. charge — in control
  18. bore — to tire
  19. land — a country
  20. saw — the tool
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. last — to go on
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. charge — electricity

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