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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 116 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cold — an illness
  4. land — a country
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mug — a face
  7. present — there
  8. land — to come down
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. present — a gift
  14. fall — the season
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mug — to rob
  20. bore — to drill
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. present — the time now
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mine — an explosive

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