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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. land — to come down
  3. net — in sport
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. field — farmland
  7. land — a country
  8. foot — a measure
  9. net — after costs
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. rest — what's left
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. deal — to handle
  21. land — ground
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. squash — to crush
  24. rest — what's left

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