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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. saw — the tool
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cold — not warm
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bear — the animal
  20. game — a match
  21. bear — the animal
  22. net — after costs
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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