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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. wind — moving air
  3. net — after costs
  4. key — the most important part
  5. net — for catching
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. date — the fruit
  9. pitch — completely
  10. staff — employees
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. net — in sport
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. staff — a stick
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. wind — moving air
  19. staff — employees
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. key — for a lock
  22. cold — an illness
  23. key — in music
  24. cold — not warm

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