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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bore — to drill
  4. net — after costs
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. net — for catching
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bore — to tire
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spring — the season
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chest — a box
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. stem — to come from
  17. land — ground
  18. net — in sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. pop — music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pop — soda
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. land — to come down

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