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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. saw — the tool
  3. net — after costs
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cue — a hint
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cue — a signal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cue — for pool
  12. field — for sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. land — a country
  15. net — for catching
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. scale — size or range
  18. net — in sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. prune — to trim
  22. scale — in music
  23. field — a subject
  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