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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — an injury
  5. land — a country
  6. clip — a video
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bore — to tire
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bore — to drill
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. saw — the tool
  19. object — an aim
  20. land — to come down
  21. clip — to cut
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — a thing
  24. spring — a coil

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