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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. lean — thin
  3. staff — employees
  4. file — a line of people
  5. staff — employees
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. lean — to bend
  9. file — a tool
  10. club — a group
  11. staff — a stick
  12. capital — money
  13. club — for dancing
  14. net — in sport
  15. capital — a city
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. net — after costs
  18. club — for golf
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. net — for catching
  24. file — a document

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