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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. present — there
  4. present — the time now
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. land — a country
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spell — magic
  11. last — finally
  12. land — ground
  13. bore — to drill
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. last — final
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. land — to come down
  18. wound — an injury
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. last — to go on

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