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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. pop — soda
  8. land — ground
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pop — music
  11. root — the cause
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. sharp — clever
  14. scale — in music
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. net — in sport
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. scale — size or range
  21. root — of a word
  22. land — to come down
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pop — to visit

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