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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. staff — a stick
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wind — moving air
  5. staff — employees
  6. pitch — completely
  7. net — in sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. net — for catching
  16. toast — bread
  17. net — after costs
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — an illness
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. bear — the animal
  23. march — the month
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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