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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lie — to recline
  4. bore — to tire
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bat — the animal
  7. season — of the year
  8. mine — for digging
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. capital — a city
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. capital — money
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. season — in sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. capital — a big letter

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