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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. can — a tin
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. land — a country
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. rest — what's left
  11. land — to come down
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — moving air
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. land — ground
  16. rest — a break
  17. can — a tin
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wake — a trail
  21. can — to be able to
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. root — of a plant

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