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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. net — after costs
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. net — for catching
  5. land — a country
  6. stand — to bear
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bound — obliged
  9. drill — army training
  10. net — in sport
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bound — tied together
  16. land — to come down
  17. bound — certain
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. roll — a list
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. plane — a tool

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