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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. land — ground
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. drill — the tool
  7. firm — steady
  8. cue — for pool
  9. drill — army training
  10. land — a country
  11. firm — a company
  12. bore — to tire
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — a hint
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. land — to come down
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cell — in biology
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cell — a phone
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. clip — a video

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