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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mine — for digging
  8. land — a country
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. land — ground
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. present — there
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — rain
  23. pitch — completely
  24. cold — not warm

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