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

Word bank: row · fork · toast · clip · snap · mine · land · drill

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mine — for digging
  4. snap — to click
  5. land — ground
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. clip — a video
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fork — in a road
  21. drill — the tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. row — a line

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