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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: wind · date · snap · pound · ground · can · spell · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. can — to be able to
  3. ground — crushed
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. date — the fruit
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. can — a tin
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. can — a tin
  15. snap — to click
  16. wind — moving air
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ground — a position
  19. spell — magic
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. spell — letters
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wind — moving air
  24. date — on the calendar

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