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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: wave · drill · mate · saw · mine · pound · swing · land

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. pound — for dogs
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — for digging
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mate — a partner
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. land — to come down
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. land — ground
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — to breed
  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