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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: land · jam · ball · object · snap · rash · lash · wind

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. object — to protest
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. ball — a dance
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. land — to come down
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rash — a series
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — a country
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. snap — to click
  17. rash — hasty
  18. object — an aim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. object — a thing
  24. snap — to speak sharply

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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