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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.

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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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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: last · stock · wind · pop · wake · staff · bark · file

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. last — final
  3. staff — employees
  4. file — a line of people
  5. stock — goods
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pop — to visit
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — to go on
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. file — a tool
  14. pop — soda
  15. last — finally
  16. stock — shares
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. file — a document
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pop — music
  24. staff — employees

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