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

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. hand — in cards

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