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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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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 · season · land · lash · rush · wake · pound · hand

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wake — a trail
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. land — to come down
  20. pound — a weight
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. lash — an eyelash

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