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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. land — a country
  4. bore — to tire
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. net — after costs
  7. race — the arms race
  8. file — a line of people
  9. land — ground
  10. file — a document
  11. snap — to click
  12. net — in sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. net — for catching
  15. race — humankind
  16. bore — to drill
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. file — a tool
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. fall — the season
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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