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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. capital — a city
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mate — a friend
  9. club — a group
  10. shower — to wash
  11. land — to come down
  12. shower — rain
  13. club — for golf
  14. bore — to drill
  15. mate — a partner
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. land — ground
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a face
  20. mug — a cup
  21. bore — to tire
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. club — for dancing
  24. land — a country

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