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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mate — to breed
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mate — a partner
  6. land — ground
  7. bore — to tire
  8. clip — for paper
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bore — to drill
  12. kid — child
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. band — a ring
  21. club — for golf
  22. land — to come down
  23. mate — a friend
  24. clip — a video

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