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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. staff — employees
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cell — a phone
  16. staff — a stick
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. staff — employees
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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