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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
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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 · degree · fan · game · bound · file · staff · root

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. staff — employees
  3. stock — shares
  4. bound — obliged
  5. file — a line of people
  6. degree — temperature
  7. staff — employees
  8. bound — certain
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. root — of a word
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — an amount
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bound — tied together
  17. root — the cause
  18. file — a document
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. staff — a stick
  21. root — of a plant
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stock — goods
  24. fan — a supporter

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