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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: mug · pound · wake · toast · fall · saw · land · snap

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — a country
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. land — to come down
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. snap — to click
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. mug — a face
  15. fall — to drop
  16. land — ground
  17. mug — a cup
  18. fall — the season
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mug — to rob
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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