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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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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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. ground — the earth
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. land — a country
  5. file — a document
  6. land — to come down
  7. drill — a practice
  8. ground — crushed
  9. file — a tool
  10. snap — to click
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. clip — a video
  13. land — ground
  14. ground — a position
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. tube — a container
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tube — the underground
  21. file — a line of people
  22. drill — army training
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tube — in a tire

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