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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. tear — from crying
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. staff — employees
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mine — for digging
  16. staff — a stick
  17. tear — to rip
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bore — to drill
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. ground — a position
  22. staff — employees
  23. row — a line
  24. rush — a thrill

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