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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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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: wind · mine · snap · ruler · mark · pop · cabinet · row

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mine — for digging
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. row — a line
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pop — to visit
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pop — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pop — soda
  21. snap — to click
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. mark — a trace

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