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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rest — what's left
  3. content — happy
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cap — of ice
  7. current — electric
  8. staff — employees
  9. track — a path
  10. current — of water
  11. file — a document
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. file — a tool
  15. rest — a break
  16. file — a line of people
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. track — to keep track
  19. wind — moving air
  20. track — a song
  21. current — happening now
  22. content — the amount
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rest — what's left

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