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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. staff — employees
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. suit — to fit
  7. staff — employees
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. suit — clothes
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. game — wild animals
  14. suit — in cards
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bat — the animal
  17. capital — money
  18. game — a match
  19. staff — a stick
  20. capital — a city
  21. net — for catching
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mine — for digging

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