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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. net — for catching
  2. staff — employees
  3. field — for sport
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. field — a subject
  13. dip — to sink
  14. clip — a video
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. net — after costs
  21. chair — a leader
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. field — farmland
  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