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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kid — to tease
  3. land — a country
  4. kid — child
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. snap — to click
  9. plane — a tool
  10. mate — to breed
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bore — to tire
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mate — a friend
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. land — to come down
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mate — a partner
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. land — ground

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