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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. file — a line of people
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. drill — army training
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. drill — the tool
  12. staff — employees
  13. mark — a trace
  14. staff — employees
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a grade
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. file — a tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. staff — a stick
  22. lean — thin
  23. kid — to tease
  24. file — a document

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