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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bank — for money
  3. file — a line of people
  4. chip — to eat
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. toast — bread
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. file — a tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bank — for money
  13. fall — to drop
  14. game — wild animals
  15. fall — the season
  16. bank — of a river
  17. chip — for betting
  18. game — a match
  19. file — a document
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. fall — to drop
  24. toast — the most admired

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