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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. land — ground
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bound — obliged
  19. land — to come down
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bulb — for light
  22. land — a country
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — tied together

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