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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: snap · firm · land · bulb · fall · bore · capital · mine

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. snap — to click
  3. firm — a company
  4. land — to come down
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. land — ground
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. land — a country
  14. mine — for digging
  15. firm — steady
  16. firm — decided
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bore — to drill
  21. fall — the season
  22. bulb — for light
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bulb — for light

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