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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. land — a country
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bore — to drill
  7. row — a line
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. land — ground
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. band — a ring
  14. field — farmland
  15. row — to paddle
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mark — a trace
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. rock — music
  23. band — a music group
  24. mark — a grade

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