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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: toast · mine · staff · rash · land · snap · drill · tube

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. staff — employees
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. tube — a container
  7. staff — a stick
  8. toast — bread
  9. land — ground
  10. rash — a series
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. rash — hasty
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. land — to come down
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. land — a country
  18. drill — a practice
  19. staff — employees
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tube — the underground
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. mine — for digging

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