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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. land — a country
  4. drill — army training
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. mine — for digging
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wake — a trail
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. land — ground
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. drill — the tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. toast — bread
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. clip — for paper
  20. sharp — clever
  21. clip — to cut
  22. land — to come down
  23. clip — a video
  24. date — the fruit

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