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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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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. object — to protest
  3. chest — of your body
  4. net — in sport
  5. chest — a box
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. object — a thing
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wind — moving air
  12. staff — a stick
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bound — certain
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cap — a hat
  20. object — an aim
  21. bound — tied together
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. chest — of your body

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