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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 116 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: wound · racket · can · content · bulb · land · hand · snap

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. hand — in cards
  3. land — a country
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. content — happy
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bulb — for light
  12. hand — help
  13. land — ground
  14. snap — to click
  15. wound — an injury
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bulb — for light
  22. land — to come down
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. can — a tin

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