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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: dip · mark · sharp · land · file · bore · branch · mine

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. land — ground
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bore — to drill
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mark — a grade
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bore — to tire
  11. file — a line of people
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. land — to come down
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. file — a document
  19. mine — for digging
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. file — a tool

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