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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. track — a song
  7. face — to confront
  8. bore — to drill
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. face — to point toward
  11. track — a path
  12. rule — a law
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bore — to tire
  15. march — music
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — the month
  19. track — to keep track
  20. march — the month
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. land — a country

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