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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: file · bay · staff · pop · fall · field · kick · wave

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fall — the season
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. field — farmland
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. kick — in football
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. pop — soda
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pop — music
  18. file — a document
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. kick — with a leg

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