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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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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: wound · snap · land · chair · safe · spell · pound · stock

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. stock — shares
  3. land — a country
  4. stock — goods
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — ground
  7. spell — magic
  8. snap — to click
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wound — an injury
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. pound — a weight
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. spell — letters
  23. wound — an injury
  24. land — to come down

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