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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. land — ground
  3. rash — a series
  4. drill — a practice
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bound — obliged
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bound — certain
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. drill — the tool
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mine — for digging
  16. land — a country
  17. drill — army training
  18. land — to come down
  19. rash — hasty
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bound — tied together

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