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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 120 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: root · land · leaves · band · wake · hand · snap · lash

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. root — the cause
  6. band — a music group
  7. hand — help
  8. snap — to click
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. band — a ring
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. hand — in cards
  14. land — ground
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. root — of a word
  17. land — to come down
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. root — of a plant
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wake — a trail
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. hand — part of the body

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