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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: snap · stick · pound · land · charge · straw · wave · chest

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. land — to come down
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chest — a box
  10. land — ground
  11. charge — a price
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — in control
  23. chest — of your body
  24. land — a country

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