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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chip — for betting
  13. net — after costs
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. staff — a stick
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chip — to eat

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