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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. last — finally
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. staff — employees
  13. file — a line of people
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. file — a document
  18. bank — of a river
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. staff — employees

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