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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · race · dip · net · rule · saw · straw · staff

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. race — humankind
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — government
  8. net — for catching
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. staff — employees
  11. race — the arms race
  12. dip — to sink
  13. race — a contest
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. staff — employees
  16. foot — a measure
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. saw — the tool
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. staff — a stick

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