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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · season · snap · land · stock · cap · cell · mug

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mug — to rob
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cell — a phone
  8. land — a country
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mug — a face
  11. season — in sport
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stock — shares
  16. snap — to click
  17. stock — goods
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. land — to come down
  20. mug — a cup
  21. cap — a hat
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. season — of the year

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