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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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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: hand · land · stem · mine · object · sharp · mouse · snap

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. stem — to come from
  3. sharp — clever
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. land — to come down
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — a thing
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. land — ground
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. object — an aim
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. snap — to click
  18. land — a country
  19. hand — help
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mouse — the animal

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