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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. firm — steady
  4. ground — a position
  5. drill — the tool
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. drill — a practice
  9. field — for sport
  10. firm — a company
  11. land — ground
  12. mark — a trace
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. firm — decided
  15. land — to come down
  16. field — a subject
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. field — farmland
  19. ground — crushed
  20. land — a country
  21. mark — a grade
  22. net — for catching
  23. rush — hurry
  24. drill — army training

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