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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. net — after costs
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. cue — for pool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — an illness
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cue — a signal
  16. hand — in cards
  17. board — a committee
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cue — a hint
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. board — to get on
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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