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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. saw — the tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — government
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. net — for catching
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. ball — a dance
  18. net — in sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. net — after costs
  22. staff — a stick
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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