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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mug — to rob
  4. object — to protest
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. net — for catching
  7. staff — employees
  8. object — an aim
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — moving air
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rest — what's left
  13. march — music
  14. shower — rain
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mug — a cup
  20. march — the month
  21. mug — a face
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. object — a thing

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