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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. land — to come down
  3. pound — a weight
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mine — for digging
  6. craft — a skill
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. row — a line
  11. craft — boats
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. rash — hasty
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. land — ground
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. vault — a safe
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. land — a country
  24. rash — a series

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