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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. field — a subject
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — farmland
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. net — for catching
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. land — a country
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. land — to come down
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mug — a cup
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — for sport
  20. land — ground
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mug — a face

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