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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. face — to confront
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — to tire
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. object — an aim
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wind — moving air
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cell — in biology
  23. land — a country
  24. kid — child

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