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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. net — after costs
  4. root — the cause
  5. wind — moving air
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. shower — rain
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. net — in sport
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. rash — hasty
  19. root — of a word
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. net — for catching
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rash — a series
  24. wind — moving air

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