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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tube — a container
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tube — the underground
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. snap — to click
  11. land — a country
  12. last — finally
  13. land — ground
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tear — to rip
  16. last — final
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. last — to go on
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. tube — in a tire

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