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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · cabinet · land · wind · march · snap · lash · sharp

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — to come down
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. land — ground
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. snap — to click
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — to drill
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. land — a country
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. sharp — clever
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. march — the month
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wind — to turn a key

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