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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. fine — all right
  3. land — to come down
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. track — a path
  12. land — ground
  13. track — a song
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. swing — in golf
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. swing — music
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fine — high quality
  21. land — a country
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. track — to keep track
  24. swing — to play on

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