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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. land — to come down
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mate — to breed
  8. swing — in golf
  9. foot — a measure
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. land — ground
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. land — a country
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. swing — music
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mate — a partner
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bark — to shout

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