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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — to drill
  3. ground — a position
  4. land — ground
  5. march — the month
  6. land — a country
  7. pop — music
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — soda
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lean — to bend
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pop — to visit
  24. lean — thin

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