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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. game — wild animals
  3. ground — a position
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mate — a partner
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. can — a tin
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. game — a match
  24. mate — to breed

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