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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. staff — a stick
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cold — an illness
  8. net — for catching
  9. staff — employees
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. sharp — clever
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cold — not warm
  16. net — in sport
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. staff — employees
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. net — after costs

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