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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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. fine — high quality
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wind — moving air
  9. track — a path
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fine — all right
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. board — a committee
  19. track — a song
  20. net — for catching
  21. staff — employees
  22. board — to get on
  23. staff — a stick
  24. net — in sport

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