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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. rash — a series
  5. firm — steady
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. stem — to come from
  10. land — ground
  11. file — a document
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rash — hasty
  16. firm — a company
  17. land — to come down
  18. net — in sport
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. land — a country
  24. firm — decided

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