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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bore — to tire
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spell — a short time
  8. land — a country
  9. bore — to drill
  10. rock — music
  11. court — for sport
  12. dip — to sink
  13. court — of a king
  14. rock — a stone
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. land — to come down
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. court — of law
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  24. arm — a part of something

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