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

Word bank: land · net · last · deal · foot · racket · rest · arm

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. deal — to handle
  6. rest — what's left
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. land — a country
  11. rest — what's left
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. land — ground
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. foot — a measure
  17. last — final
  18. rest — a break
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. land — to come down
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. net — for catching

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