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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: fan · ground · saw · game · rash · snap · stock · staff

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. saw — the tool
  3. staff — a stick
  4. snap — to click
  5. staff — employees
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rash — a series
  8. stock — shares
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. game — a match
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. ground — a position
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. ground — the earth
  19. stock — goods
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. game — wild animals
  23. staff — employees
  24. saw — the tool

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