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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. land — a country
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. land — ground
  6. snap — to click
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. present — there
  10. prune — to trim
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. present — the time now
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. present — a gift
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. prune — to trim

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