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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 116 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: wave · bore · dip · saw · land · mine · present · season

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — ground
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. present — the time now
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. season — in sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. saw — the tool
  14. present — there
  15. land — to come down
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. present — a gift
  23. season — of the year
  24. land — a country

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