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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: firm · drill · clip · stock · spring · file · staff · cabinet

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. spring — of water
  3. clip — to cut
  4. drill — a practice
  5. file — a tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. file — a document
  8. spring — a coil
  9. drill — the tool
  10. firm — decided
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spring — the season
  13. firm — steady
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. clip — for paper
  18. drill — army training
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. staff — employees
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stock — shares

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