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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.

Make a worksheet

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: lie · shower · racket · snap · hand · land · tube · calf

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. land — to come down
  6. shower — rain
  7. snap — to click
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. hand — in cards
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. lie — to recline
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. land — ground
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. shower — to wash

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