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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. field — a subject
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. drill — army training
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. land — to come down
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. land — ground
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. field — farmland
  19. row — a line
  20. land — a country
  21. deal — to handle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. drill — the tool
  24. field — for sport

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