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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. fine — all right
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. bank — for money
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. deal — to handle
  8. cold — an illness
  9. file — a document
  10. fine — high quality
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bank — for money
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — not warm

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