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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.

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 · chair · bore · tube · mine · cold · mouse · deal

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. tube — a container
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bore — to tire
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. land — a country
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bore — to drill
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. deal — a big deal

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