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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · chest · bowl · rash · staff · mine · season · file

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cap — a hat
  4. staff — employees
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chest — a box
  8. season — of the year
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cap — a lid
  11. season — in sport
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. mine — for digging
  18. rash — a series
  19. chest — of your body
  20. file — a tool
  21. staff — employees
  22. file — a document
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bowl — a football final

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