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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. drill — a practice
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — in music
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. key — for a lock
  7. fall — to drop
  8. drill — army training
  9. land — a country
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. fall — the season
  13. chip — for betting
  14. land — ground
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. land — to come down
  18. mine — for digging
  19. fall — to drop
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. drill — the tool
  23. capital — money
  24. pound — a weight

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