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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rash — a series
  5. snap — to click
  6. land — to come down
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. land — ground
  16. rash — hasty
  17. row — a line
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. shower — rain
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fine — all right
  24. row — to paddle

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