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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rest — a break
  3. root — of a word
  4. chip — to eat
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. swing — to play on
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — there
  11. rest — what's left
  12. staff — employees
  13. rest — what's left
  14. file — a document
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. chip — for betting
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. staff — employees
  22. root — the cause
  23. present — the time now
  24. root — of a plant

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