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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.

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: shower · land · fine · wound · mug · chip · snap · content

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. fine — all right
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fine — high quality
  5. land — to come down
  6. mug — to rob
  7. content — the amount
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mug — a face
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. content — happy
  14. snap — to click
  15. shower — rain
  16. land — a country
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. land — ground
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chip — for betting
  22. mug — a cup
  23. wound — an injury
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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