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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mug — to rob
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mug — a cup
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. branch — a division
  11. net — after costs
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mug — a face
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. net — in sport
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. net — for catching
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bay — a horse colour

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