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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. staff — employees
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. file — a tool
  10. date — the fruit
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. stock — goods
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. pitch — completely
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. file — a document
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stock — shares
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. file — a line of people

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