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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. net — in sport
  5. row — to paddle
  6. land — to come down
  7. object — to protest
  8. bank — for money
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. field — for sport
  11. bank — of a river
  12. net — after costs
  13. field — farmland
  14. land — a country
  15. cell — in biology
  16. land — ground
  17. field — a subject
  18. cell — a phone
  19. object — a thing
  20. bank — for money
  21. object — an aim
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. net — for catching

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