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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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. field — for sport
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rash — hasty
  5. field — a subject
  6. cold — not warm
  7. deal — to handle
  8. root — the cause
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cold — an illness
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. rash — a series
  19. field — farmland
  20. net — in sport
  21. mine — for digging
  22. net — for catching
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. root — of a word

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