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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 124 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. mine — for digging
  3. key — for a lock
  4. firm — steady
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. land — a country
  7. firm — a company
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. land — ground
  12. key — in music
  13. firm — decided
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bore — to tire
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. land — to come down
  21. key — the most important part
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. mine — belonging to me

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