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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 · stock · ground · kid · saw · racket · wind · bay

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — child
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stock — shares
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. ground — a position
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. stock — goods
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. wind — moving air
  24. racket — for tennis

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