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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. land — to come down
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. land — a country
  5. hand — in cards
  6. land — ground
  7. bore — to tire
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. season — in sport
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. hand — help
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. bore — to drill
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. perch — the fish
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rash — a series
  24. rock — to move gently

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