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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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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: season · dip · mine · bore · current · root · land · hand

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. season — of the year
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. current — electric
  6. current — of water
  7. mine — for digging
  8. root — of a word
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. dip — to sink
  11. land — a country
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. root — the cause
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. root — of a plant
  20. season — in sport
  21. hand — help
  22. current — happening now
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. hand — in cards

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