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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. ground — the earth
  5. date — the fruit
  6. file — a tool
  7. net — in sport
  8. fine — high quality
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. land — to come down
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. file — a line of people
  15. fine — all right
  16. land — a country
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. ground — crushed
  19. land — ground
  20. file — a document
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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