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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 · kid · last · staff · rock · court · cabinet · land

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. staff — employees
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. court — of law
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. staff — a stick
  10. court — for sport
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. file — a tool
  14. kid — child
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. last — finally
  17. kid — to tease
  18. staff — employees
  19. rock — music
  20. land — to come down
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. court — of a king
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rock — a stone

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