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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. land — a country
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. land — ground
  7. drill — the tool
  8. game — a match
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. land — to come down
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cell — in biology
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. cell — a phone
  18. game — wild animals

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