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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bore — to drill
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bore — to tire
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. game — a match
  12. capital — a city
  13. land — ground
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. land — to come down
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. capital — money
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. game — wild animals

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