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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. present — a gift
  5. net — after costs
  6. lean — to bend
  7. last — to go on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. present — the time now
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. swing — in golf
  13. net — for catching
  14. saw — the tool
  15. lean — thin
  16. present — there
  17. saw — the tool
  18. staff — employees
  19. swing — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. staff — employees
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. swing — to play on
  24. staff — a stick

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