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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a tool
  3. bank — of a river
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. lean — thin
  7. staff — a stick
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. file — a line of people
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — the animal
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bank — for money
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bank — for money
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wound — an injury

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