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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
468
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: bowl · straw · fine · dip · land · snap · bat · bound

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. dip — to sink
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bound — certain
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — ground
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bound — obliged
  14. fine — all right
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. land — a country
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. land — to come down
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. fine — high quality
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. bat — in an idiom

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