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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: lie · swing · stock · prune · bore · mine · land · roll

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. roll — a list
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. mine — for digging
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. swing — to play on
  8. lie — to recline
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. swing — music
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. prune — to trim
  15. roll — a cake
  16. stock — shares
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — ground
  19. stock — goods
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. land — to come down
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. prune — the fruit

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