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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. net — for catching
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. net — in sport
  6. mark — a trace
  7. spring — of water
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. mark — a grade
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mug — a cup
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spell — letters
  16. mug — to rob
  17. clip — a video
  18. spell — magic
  19. net — after costs
  20. land — to come down
  21. spring — the season
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mug — a face
  24. land — a country

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