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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bound — certain
  4. mug — a face
  5. key — for a lock
  6. race — a contest
  7. mug — to rob
  8. land — to come down
  9. track — to keep track
  10. key — in music
  11. net — in sport
  12. key — the most important part
  13. land — ground
  14. race — the arms race
  15. track — a song
  16. mug — a cup
  17. bound — obliged
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. race — humankind
  20. land — a country
  21. track — a path
  22. net — for catching
  23. bound — tied together
  24. saw — the tool

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