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

Word bank: row · rock · land · wind · snap · hand · leaves · pit

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — ground
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rock — a stone
  9. snap — to click
  10. row — to paddle
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. pit — a hole
  16. land — to come down
  17. wind — moving air
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — help
  21. land — a country
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. leaves — lets stay

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