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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: snap · cap · kid · temple · land · nail · current · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. kid — to tease
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. current — electric
  9. current — happening now
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. cap — a hat
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. land — a country
  14. cap — of ice
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. land — ground
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cap — a lid
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. current — of water
  22. snap — to click
  23. land — to come down
  24. nail — for a hammer

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