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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. roll — a cake
  3. track — a song
  4. staff — a stick
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. staff — employees
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. file — a tool
  9. stock — shares
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. track — a path
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. file — a line of people
  14. lean — to bend
  15. stock — goods
  16. roll — a list
  17. track — to keep track
  18. file — a document
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. rash — a series
  23. lean — thin
  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