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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. land — ground
  4. rule — a law
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. ball — a great time
  7. face — part of the head
  8. drill — a practice
  9. content — the amount
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. spring — a coil
  12. land — to come down
  13. rule — government
  14. ball — a dance
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. face — to point toward
  18. content — happy
  19. drill — the tool
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. land — a country
  22. face — to confront
  23. spring — the season
  24. nail — for a hammer

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