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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cap — a lid
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. tear — from crying
  10. track — to keep track
  11. tear — to rip
  12. track — a song
  13. file — a document
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tear — from crying
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bat — the animal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. track — a path
  24. bank — for money

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