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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. clip — to cut
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pitch — completely
  8. land — a country
  9. clip — a video
  10. stock — shares
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. clip — for paper
  13. land — to come down
  14. bank — of a river
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bank — for money
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. stock — goods
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bank — for money

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