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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: wave · cold · rest · stock · staff · rock · branch · file

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. stock — shares
  3. file — a document
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. file — a tool
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. rest — what's left
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — a stone
  13. stock — goods
  14. branch — a division
  15. rock — music
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cold — not warm

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