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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: swing · land · mine · calf · saw · ground · mate · mark

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ground — a position
  4. land — ground
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mine — for digging
  7. saw — the tool
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mark — a grade
  11. swing — to play on
  12. mate — a partner
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. mark — a trace
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. land — a country
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ground — the earth
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. land — to come down
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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