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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. club — a group
  4. land — a country
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. drill — the tool
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. drill — a practice
  10. land — to come down
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. row — to paddle
  14. club — for dancing
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. drill — army training
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. club — for golf
  23. mine — for digging
  24. row — a line

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