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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. chip — to eat
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chip — for betting
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. press — a publisher
  13. band — a music group
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for money
  19. mine — for digging
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. press — to push
  23. band — a ring
  24. 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