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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · stock · leaves · season · mine · temple · cell · drill

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. season — in sport
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. season — of the year
  9. drill — a practice
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. drill — army training
  13. stock — shares
  14. drill — the tool
  15. land — a country
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cell — in biology
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — a phone
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cell — in a prison

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