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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 · lean · lash · hand · bowl · pass · rest · snap

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lean — thin
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. land — a country
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. rest — a break
  10. pass — a permit
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. snap — to click
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rest — what's left
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. land — to come down
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. hand — help
  21. lean — to bend
  22. land — ground
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bowl — a football final

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