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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: stock · pit · rash · file · clip · chest · current · staff

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stock — shares
  7. rash — hasty
  8. file — a document
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. clip — to cut
  11. current — of water
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pit — a hole
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pit — in a race
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rash — a series
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chest — a box
  20. stock — goods
  21. file — a tool
  22. staff — a stick
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — a video

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