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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. file — a line of people
  5. land — to come down
  6. last — finally
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. land — ground
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — a country
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wound — an injury
  18. last — final
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. file — a tool
  21. bear — the animal
  22. file — a document
  23. bear — the animal
  24. nail — for a hammer

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