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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. land — to come down
  3. track — a path
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. rush — hurry
  8. chest — a box
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. land — a country
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bark — to shout
  18. tube — the underground
  19. net — in sport
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. net — for catching
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. land — ground

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