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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 was this ________________ built?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. net — after costs
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. foot — a measure
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. net — in sport
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. net — for catching
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. land — ground
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. land — to come down
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. land — a country

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