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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. net — after costs
  4. mine — for digging
  5. saw — the tool
  6. game — wild animals
  7. net — for catching
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. land — to come down
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. game — a match
  14. stock — goods
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bear — the animal
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stock — shares
  23. net — in sport
  24. squash — to crush

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