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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. net — after costs
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. net — in sport
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. land — a country
  13. rest — what's left
  14. field — for sport
  15. game — a match
  16. deal — to handle
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. land — ground
  20. rest — a break
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. land — to come down
  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