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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 116 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. march — the month
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. march — music
  5. staff — employees
  6. march — the month
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. staff — employees
  11. net — in sport
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. net — after costs
  16. wind — moving air
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. staff — a stick
  20. firm — steady
  21. net — for catching
  22. firm — decided
  23. wind — moving air
  24. field — for sport

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