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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chest — of your body
  3. staff — employees
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. net — for catching
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. staff — a stick
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chip — for betting
  18. net — in sport
  19. chest — a box
  20. cold — an illness
  21. deal — to handle
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. net — after costs
  24. chip — to eat

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