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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. land — ground
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — the tool
  5. land — a country
  6. roll — a cake
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. roll — a list
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bank — for money
  11. land — to come down
  12. kick — in football
  13. degree — temperature
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bank — for money
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. net — in sport
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. net — for catching
  20. drill — army training
  21. bank — of a river
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. kick — a thrill

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