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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 120 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: rush · saw · staff · stock · squash · net · clip · lean

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. saw — the tool
  4. staff — employees
  5. rush — hurry
  6. clip — a video
  7. lean — to bend
  8. net — in sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. net — after costs
  13. clip — for paper
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. staff — a stick
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. net — for catching
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. lean — thin
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stock — shares
  23. saw — the tool
  24. staff — employees

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