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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: court · racket · pound · lash · land · snap · wave · row

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  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. snap — to click
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. land — a country
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. court — of law
  9. pound — a weight
  10. court — of a king
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. land — to come down
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. court — for sport
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. row — to paddle
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. land — ground
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  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