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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. mate — a friend
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fine — all right
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. fine — high quality
  18. cell — in biology
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. cell — a phone
  24. net — for catching

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