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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: fan · mine · bear · land · drill · stock · wound · key

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — a country
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stock — shares
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. drill — army training
  14. land — ground
  15. wound — an injury
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. land — to come down
  20. stock — goods
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — in music

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