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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: staff · key · toast · press · mine · race · file · clip

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. race — humankind
  5. press — newspapers
  6. file — a tool
  7. key — the most important part
  8. clip — for paper
  9. race — a contest
  10. press — a publisher
  11. staff — employees
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. clip — to cut
  14. key — in music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. mine — for digging
  17. file — a document
  18. toast — bread
  19. clip — a video
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. file — a line of people
  23. press — to push
  24. mine — an explosive

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