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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fine — high quality
  4. net — in sport
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. pop — to visit
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. net — for catching
  10. pop — music
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. pop — soda
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. field — farmland
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fine — all right
  19. cell — in biology
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. land — a country
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. temple — side of the head

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