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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: wind · can · snap · kid · ruler · land · last · pass

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. kid — to tease
  3. can — a tin
  4. last — to go on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — child
  7. land — a country
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. land — ground
  11. last — final
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. snap — to click
  18. last — finally
  19. can — a tin
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. land — to come down
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. can — to be able to

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