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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. land — a country
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rash — a series
  12. bound — obliged
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bound — certain
  16. land — to come down
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. toast — bread
  19. bound — tied together
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. land — ground
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. mine — belonging to me

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