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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. spring — of water
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. last — finally
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — in a road
  9. saw — the tool
  10. land — ground
  11. club — a group
  12. last — to go on
  13. land — a country
  14. club — for dancing
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spring — the season
  18. club — for golf
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. last — final
  24. land — to come down

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