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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. net — after costs
  4. land — ground
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stock — goods
  7. foot — a measure
  8. row — to paddle
  9. net — in sport
  10. row — a line
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. season — of the year
  15. stock — shares
  16. can — a tin
  17. net — for catching
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. can — a tin
  20. land — to come down
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. season — in sport
  23. bound — obliged
  24. can — to be able to

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