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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. net — after costs
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. file — a document
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. file — a tool
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. file — a line of people
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wound — an injury
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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