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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. mate — a friend
  11. drill — army training
  12. land — a country
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. land — ground
  16. object — a thing
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. object — to protest
  22. fork — in a road
  23. object — an aim
  24. land — to come down

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