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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 water is too ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — after costs
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. stand — to bear
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. chip — to eat
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. saw — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. net — in sport
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. net — for catching
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chip — for betting
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lie — to recline

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