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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: fan · roll · snap · season · dip · wound · hand · nail

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. roll — a list
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. dip — to sink
  14. season — in sport
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. wound — an injury
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wound — an injury
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a cake
  22. season — of the year
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. dip — a sauce

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