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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: date · lean · rash · snap · patient · file · pop · staff

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. staff — employees
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. pop — to visit
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. lean — thin
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. file — a tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. rash — hasty
  16. date — the fruit
  17. staff — employees
  18. lean — to bend
  19. pop — music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. staff — a stick
  22. file — a document
  23. pop — soda
  24. file — a line of people

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