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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. net — after costs
  4. land — ground
  5. row — a line
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. land — to come down
  12. deal — to handle
  13. land — a country
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. net — for catching
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. net — in sport

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