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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pound — a weight
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rest — a break
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. drill — army training
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mine — for digging
  15. drill — the tool
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. chair — a leader
  20. stem — to come from
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. land — to come down
  24. rash — hasty

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