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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. land — to come down
  3. track — a path
  4. net — in sport
  5. track — a song
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. scale — in music
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. land — a country
  19. net — for catching
  20. bark — to shout
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. land — ground
  23. stand — to bear
  24. track — to keep track

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