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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: wave · snap · land · wound · mate · board · spring · lash

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. land — a country
  3. spring — of water
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — to come down
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. land — ground
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. mate — a friend
  14. board — a committee
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. mate — to breed
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. spring — the season
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. board — to get on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. wound — an injury

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