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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · staff · cold · shower · pop · pass · lean · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. staff — employees
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cold — an illness
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pop — music
  8. lean — to bend
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. file — a tool
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. file — a document
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lean — thin
  18. pop — to visit
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — a permit
  22. file — a line of people
  23. shower — rain
  24. pop — soda

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