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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mug — a face
  3. mine — for digging
  4. spell — letters
  5. season — of the year
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. net — for catching
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bore — to drill
  10. land — a country
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mug — to rob
  13. spell — magic
  14. bore — to tire
  15. net — after costs
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. net — in sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mug — a cup
  22. spell — a short time
  23. season — in sport
  24. land — to come down

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