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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. net — after costs
  4. land — a country
  5. tube — a container
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. foot — a measure
  11. suit — in cards
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. field — for sport
  14. net — in sport
  15. suit — clothes
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. row — to paddle
  23. net — for catching
  24. suit — to fit

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