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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: cabinet · mate · rest · mine · land · net · kick · club

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mate — a partner
  5. net — after costs
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. rest — a break
  10. club — for dancing
  11. land — to come down
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. club — for golf
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rest — what's left
  16. kick — in football
  17. net — for catching
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. land — ground
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. mine — for digging
  23. club — a group
  24. net — in sport

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