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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. squash — to crush
  3. land — ground
  4. chip — to eat
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. squash — the sport
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bank — for money
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bank — of a river
  14. kid — child
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a tool
  18. pop — soda
  19. bank — for money
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pop — music
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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