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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. land — a country
  4. fine — all right
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chip — to eat
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fine — high quality
  16. land — ground
  17. mate — a friend
  18. land — to come down
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. shower — rain
  21. bore — to tire
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bore — to drill
  24. chip — in a computer

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