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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. land — to come down
  9. wound — an injury
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. land — ground
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pass — a permit
  16. toast — bread
  17. roll — a list
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bore — to drill
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. land — a country

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