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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bore — to tire
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. land — to come down
  16. bore — to drill
  17. swing — in golf
  18. land — a country
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. swing — music
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. swing — to play on

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