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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: calf · land · wound · mate · stick · pound · can · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mate — to breed
  3. land — a country
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wound — an injury
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. can — a tin
  15. land — to come down
  16. pound — a weight
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. land — ground
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. can — a tin
  23. mate — a partner
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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