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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. net — after costs
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. net — in sport
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. can — a tin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. staff — employees
  18. wind — moving air
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. net — for catching
  24. pitch — completely

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