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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. game — a match
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cell — in biology
  7. tube — the underground
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. land — to come down
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. tube — a container
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. land — a country
  19. bore — to tire
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bore — to drill

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