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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. staff — employees
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. file — a document
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. spell — letters
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a tool
  11. chip — to eat
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wind — moving air
  14. track — a song
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. spell — a short time
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chip — for betting
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spell — magic
  24. track — a path

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