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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: hand · key · stick · fall · roll · land · snap · row

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. land — a country
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. key — for a lock
  9. row — to paddle
  10. key — the most important part
  11. fall — to drop
  12. roll — a cake
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. fall — the season
  15. hand — in cards
  16. land — to come down
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. hand — help
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. land — ground
  23. roll — a list
  24. row — a line

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