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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cue — a hint
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — a line
  5. cell — a phone
  6. drill — a practice
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. land — ground
  9. cue — for pool
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. land — to come down
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. drill — army training
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. row — to paddle
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cue — a signal
  23. pound — a weight
  24. row — a quarrel

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