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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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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 · pound · drill · root · present · snap · wave · court

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. present — a gift
  3. court — of a king
  4. snap — to click
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. present — the time now
  8. drill — the tool
  9. land — ground
  10. root — of a word
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. root — the cause
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. root — of a plant
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. drill — army training
  18. court — of law
  19. land — a country
  20. drill — a practice
  21. present — there
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. land — to come down
  24. court — for sport

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