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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. present — a gift
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bore — to drill
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. land — to come down
  13. cell — in biology
  14. plane — a tool
  15. land — a country
  16. field — for sport
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pop — music
  19. land — ground
  20. pop — soda
  21. present — the time now
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. present — there

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