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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. land — a country
  5. ground — crushed
  6. suit — to fit
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. suit — clothes
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bore — to tire
  11. ground — a position
  12. mine — for digging
  13. lean — thin
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. land — to come down
  16. suit — in cards
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bore — to drill
  19. land — ground
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. ground — the earth
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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