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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.

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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 · ruler · ground · staff · bore · mine · capital · last

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. land — ground
  3. capital — a city
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. capital — money
  6. ground — crushed
  7. land — a country
  8. bore — to drill
  9. ground — a position
  10. staff — employees
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ground — the earth
  16. last — finally
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. land — to come down
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. staff — a stick
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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