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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: fall · land · mine · nail · ruler · snap · net · object

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. land — ground
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. object — an aim
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. net — for catching
  8. object — a thing
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. net — after costs
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. net — in sport
  18. mine — for digging
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fall — the season
  21. object — to protest
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. nail — for a hammer

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