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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. board — a committee
  3. net — after costs
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. land — a country
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fork — in a road
  9. board — to get on
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. net — for catching
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. land — to come down
  17. track — a song
  18. cell — in biology
  19. track — to keep track
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. track — a path
  22. land — ground
  23. net — in sport
  24. pound — a weight

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