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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 120 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: snap · ruler · face · land · trunk · ground · mouse · cold

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. land — to come down
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. land — a country
  14. snap — to click
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ground — crushed
  18. face — to confront
  19. land — ground
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. ground — a position
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mouse — the animal

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