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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. net — after costs
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. net — for catching
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. game — a match
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. stock — goods
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. net — in sport
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stock — shares
  21. lean — thin
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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