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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. march — the month
  3. land — to come down
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. track — a song
  6. land — ground
  7. net — in sport
  8. club — for dancing
  9. chest — a box
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. club — for golf
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. march — music
  15. net — for catching
  16. track — to keep track
  17. chest — of your body
  18. land — a country
  19. root — the cause
  20. club — a group
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. chest — of your body
  23. track — a path
  24. march — the month

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