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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: toast · tear · land · snap · lean · trunk · roll · pitcher

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. lean — to bend
  3. roll — a cake
  4. land — a country
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. roll — a list
  13. land — to come down
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. snap — to click
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lean — thin
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. tear — to rip

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