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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to drill
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chest — of your body
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chest — a box
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. prune — to trim
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chest — of your body
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. drill — army training
  24. prune — to trim

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