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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. object — to protest
  3. stock — shares
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ground — the earth
  6. cue — a hint
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stock — goods
  9. file — a document
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. object — an aim
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. staff — employees
  22. file — a tool
  23. object — a thing
  24. file — a line of people

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