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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 shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. net — after costs
  5. fine — all right
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. saw — the tool
  9. tube — the underground
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. staff — a stick
  12. tube — a container
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. net — in sport
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tube — in a tire
  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