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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: snap · fan · stand · plane · row · nail · roll · cold

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. row — a line
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. stand — to bear
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. roll — a list
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. roll — a cake
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. fan — to cool the air

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