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

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire

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