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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: snap · wake · mate · bear · cap · wound · land · bulb

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. snap — to click
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. land — ground
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cap — a lid
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bulb — for light
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. land — a country
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cap — of ice
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. mate — to breed

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