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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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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: staff · rest · rule · game · branch · net · file · pit

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. file — a tool
  3. pit — in a race
  4. staff — a stick
  5. branch — a division
  6. net — after costs
  7. file — a document
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pit — a hole
  14. rest — what's left
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. net — for catching
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. rule — government
  21. net — in sport
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. game — a kind of play

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