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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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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 · march · mug · saw · tear · mine · dip · ground

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. dip — to sink
  3. mug — to rob
  4. land — ground
  5. march — the month
  6. saw — the tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mug — a face
  9. march — the month
  10. ground — a position
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ground — the earth
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. saw — the tool
  19. land — a country
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. tear — to rip
  22. land — to come down
  23. march — music
  24. dip — a sauce

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