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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. object — a thing
  5. land — ground
  6. pound — a weight
  7. land — to come down
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — an aim
  10. land — a country
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — a practice
  14. date — the fruit
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. rule — government
  17. drill — the tool
  18. net — in sport
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. tear — from crying
  21. drill — army training
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tear — to rip
  24. date — on the calendar

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