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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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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: stand · race · net · bound · sharp · land · drill · track

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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. sharp — with an edge
  4. net — for catching
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bound — certain
  7. stand — to bear
  8. land — ground
  9. drill — a practice
  10. race — humankind
  11. bound — obliged
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. track — a song
  14. sharp — clever
  15. track — a path
  16. bound — tied together
  17. drill — army training
  18. land — a country
  19. race — the arms race
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. land — to come down
  22. race — a contest
  23. drill — the tool
  24. track — to keep track

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