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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. vault — a safe
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. face — to point toward
  9. land — ground
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to drill
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. field — farmland
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. face — part of the head
  18. field — for sport
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bore — to tire
  21. field — a subject
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. mine — for digging

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