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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mug — a face
  3. land — ground
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spell — letters
  10. mug — to rob
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bore — to tire
  13. track — a song
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. land — to come down
  20. mug — a cup
  21. track — a path
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cell — in biology

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