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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · net · field · land · ruler · tube · row · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mate — a friend
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. mate — to breed
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. land — ground
  10. tube — a container
  11. field — farmland
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. key — in music
  15. mate — a partner
  16. land — a country
  17. row — a line
  18. land — to come down
  19. net — for catching
  20. field — a subject
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. field — for sport
  23. row — to paddle
  24. key — the most important part

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