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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · land · bore · saw · mine · race

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mate — to breed
  8. land — to come down
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. land — a country
  13. mate — a partner
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. land — ground
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — to tire
  18. mate — a friend

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