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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 120 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. net — after costs
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. press — newspapers
  10. file — a tool
  11. staff — employees
  12. press — a publisher
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. hand — help
  16. last — to go on
  17. staff — a stick
  18. press — to push
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. net — in sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. root — of a word
  24. net — for catching

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