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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pit — a hole
  9. drill — army training
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cap — a hat
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pit — in a race
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. drill — the tool
  16. key — for a lock
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. cold — an illness
  24. key — in music

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