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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 116 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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. land — ground
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pound — a weight
  5. degree — an amount
  6. net — in sport
  7. land — a country
  8. firm — a company
  9. mate — a friend
  10. row — a line
  11. rest — a break
  12. net — for catching
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. net — after costs
  16. land — to come down
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. rest — what's left
  20. firm — decided
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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