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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. staff — employees
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. net — for catching
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — help
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. shower — to wash
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — rain
  13. file — a line of people
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. staff — employees
  16. file — a document
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — to handle
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. staff — a stick
  22. file — a tool
  23. hand — in cards
  24. net — after costs

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