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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: mine · chest · fall · snap · hide · lie · bank · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. bank — of a river
  6. mine — for digging
  7. land — ground
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. land — to come down
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bank — for money
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fall — the season
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bank — for money
  20. snap — to click
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. chest — of your body
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. lie — to recline

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