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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 116 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: bowl · snap · land · ball · sharp · bore · last · spring

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. land — a country
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. ball — a great time
  6. last — to go on
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. land — ground
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — to drill
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. last — final
  15. ball — a dance
  16. land — to come down
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. spring — the season
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. last — finally
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spring — a coil
  24. snap — to click

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