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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. suit — in cards
  3. stock — goods
  4. land — to come down
  5. bore — to tire
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. suit — clothes
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. drill — the tool
  14. land — ground
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. drill — army training
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. suit — to fit
  22. stock — shares
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. drill — a practice

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