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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 116 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: bay · snap · cell · ruler · wind · land · pitcher · lash

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — to come down
  4. wind — moving air
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cell — in biology
  8. snap — to click
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. land — a country
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. lash — to lash out

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