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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: saw · snap · nail · game · tear · squash · land · mine

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. mine — for digging
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. tear — to rip
  9. game — wild animals
  10. tear — from crying
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. land — a country
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — to crush
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. land — ground
  18. saw — the tool
  19. squash — the sport
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. mine — belonging to me

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