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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. tube — the underground
  11. net — for catching
  12. mine — for digging
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — hurry
  19. tube — a container
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stem — to come from
  22. land — to come down
  23. net — in sport
  24. bear — to put up with

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