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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 120 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. drill — army training
  3. ball — a great time
  4. row — to paddle
  5. land — a country
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. land — ground
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. row — a line
  14. ball — a dance
  15. season — of the year
  16. mine — for digging
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — to come down
  19. drill — the tool
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. season — in sport
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pound — for dogs

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