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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: snap · charge · land · craft · fan · chair · wound · wake

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to click
  7. wake — a trail
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — in control
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. craft — boats
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. craft — a skill
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. charge — electricity
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — a country
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. chair — a leader

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