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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — not warm
  5. net — in sport
  6. cold — an illness
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. net — for catching
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. deal — to handle
  23. net — after costs
  24. fan — a supporter

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