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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. staff — a stick
  3. net — in sport
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. chest — of your body
  7. net — for catching
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wind — moving air
  10. net — after costs
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chest — a box

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