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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spring — a coil
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. saw — the tool
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tear — from crying
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. spring — the season
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. saw — the tool
  15. band — a music group
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. land — to come down
  20. band — a ring
  21. spring — of water
  22. scale — size or range
  23. land — a country
  24. game — a match

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