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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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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. snap — to click
  3. tear — to rip
  4. current — happening now
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. current — electric
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. current — of water
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — to come down
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. land — ground

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