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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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Word bank
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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: shower · sharp · toast · net · staff · last · mug · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — after costs
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. mug — a face
  5. staff — a stick
  6. mug — to rob
  7. cold — an illness
  8. last — to go on
  9. mug — a cup
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. sharp — clever
  13. last — finally
  14. net — for catching
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. net — in sport
  19. last — final
  20. shower — rain
  21. staff — employees
  22. shower — to wash
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. sharp — exactly

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