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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. net — after costs
  3. mate — to breed
  4. net — in sport
  5. deal — to handle
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. net — for catching
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mate — a partner
  11. land — ground
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. land — a country
  15. fork — in a road
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. rest — a break
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. mate — a friend
  20. clip — a video
  21. rest — what's left
  22. clip — to cut
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. wake — a trail

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