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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stock — shares
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stock — goods
  9. staff — employees
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. sharp — clever
  19. chair — a leader
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. sharp — with an edge

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