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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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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bank — for money
  3. hand — help
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. file — a document
  8. stock — shares
  9. chair — a leader
  10. net — for catching
  11. stock — goods
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bank — for money
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. file — a line of people
  20. net — after costs
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. net — in sport
  23. chip — for betting
  24. hand — in cards

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