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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 116 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'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — the underground
  5. key — for a lock
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. key — in music
  9. stock — shares
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stock — goods
  14. bank — of a river
  15. file — a line of people
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. file — a document
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. file — a tool
  22. key — the most important part
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bank — for money

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