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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. last — final
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. net — after costs
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. net — in sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chip — for betting
  13. last — to go on
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — finally
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. chip — to eat

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