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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. drill — army training
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. roll — a list
  13. bore — to tire
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bore — to drill
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. drill — the tool
  18. land — to come down
  19. fork — in a road
  20. land — ground
  21. drill — a practice
  22. roll — a cake
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. fork — to eat with

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