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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. land — ground
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. staff — employees
  6. snap — to click
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. file — a line of people
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. land — a country
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. staff — employees
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. land — to come down
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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