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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. rock — a stone
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fork — in a road
  7. wound — an injury
  8. shower — rain
  9. land — a country
  10. mine — for digging
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. tube — the underground
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. land — ground
  16. tube — a container
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. land — to come down
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rock — music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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