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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 116 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: snap · game · mine · ruler · cell · prune · wave · drill

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. snap — to click
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. drill — army training
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. game — a match
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. drill — the tool
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cell — in biology
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. cell — a phone
  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