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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. plane — a tool
  3. branch — a division
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stock — shares
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. stock — goods
  9. file — a tool
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. file — a document
  13. cue — a signal
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. staff — a stick
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a hint
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. staff — employees
  23. file — a line of people
  24. plane — in geometry

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