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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. staff — a stick
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. tear — to rip
  5. game — a match
  6. tear — from crying
  7. staff — employees
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rule — government
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. saw — the tool
  14. current — happening now
  15. net — in sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. rule — a law
  20. staff — employees
  21. tear — from crying
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. net — for catching
  24. rule — to rule out

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