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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: land · squash · net · clip · file · temple · game · root

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. file — a tool
  3. net — after costs
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. root — of a plant
  7. net — for catching
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. clip — a video
  11. game — a match
  12. file — a document
  13. root — of a word
  14. land — ground
  15. file — a line of people
  16. squash — the sport
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. land — a country
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. squash — to crush
  22. root — the cause
  23. game — wild animals
  24. land — to come down

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