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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chip — to eat
  7. land — a country
  8. drill — the tool
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. kick — in football
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. pop — soda
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — music
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. pop — to visit
  22. drill — army training
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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