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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: drill · hand · snap · game · object · mate · stem · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. snap — to click
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. hand — help
  7. mate — a partner
  8. drill — army training
  9. hand — in cards
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. land — ground
  13. object — to protest
  14. game — a match
  15. object — a thing
  16. game — wild animals
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. land — a country
  22. mate — to breed
  23. object — an aim
  24. mate — a friend

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