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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 · cabinet · racket · deal · cold · fork · game · staff

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stock — goods
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. stock — shares
  20. deal — to handle
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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