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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 120 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mine — for digging
  3. staff — employees
  4. saw — the tool
  5. file — a tool
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. file — a document
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. saw — the tool
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rash — a series
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rash — hasty
  18. staff — a stick
  19. file — a line of people
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rash — on the skin

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