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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. staff — a stick
  4. fine — high quality
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. fine — all right
  8. rash — a series
  9. staff — employees
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — shares
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. branch — a division
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. last — final
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. last — to go on
  24. branch — of a tree

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