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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: mine · snap · saw · tear · can · hand · lie · land

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. saw — the tool
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. can — a tin
  7. hand — help
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mine — for digging
  10. lie — to recline
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to click
  16. tear — to rip
  17. can — to be able to
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. land — a country
  21. saw — the tool
  22. can — a tin
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. lie — an untruth

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