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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. toast — bread
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. staff — employees
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mark — a trace
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. staff — employees
  18. wind — moving air

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