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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: stick · staff · file · hide · ground · wind · spring · last

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. ground — crushed
  3. spring — a coil
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spring — of water
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. file — a document
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. last — finally
  12. ground — the earth
  13. spring — the season
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. staff — employees
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. ground — a position
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. staff — employees
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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