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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rule — a law
  3. net — for catching
  4. wake — a trail
  5. capital — money
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. net — in sport
  9. rock — a stone
  10. capital — a city
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rule — government
  16. land — a country
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — ground
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. land — to come down
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rock — music

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