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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bank — for money
  3. tube — the underground
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. spell — letters
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. craft — boats
  9. spell — a short time
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. rest — a break
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. craft — a skill
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. file — a tool
  17. pit — a hole
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spell — magic
  20. file — a line of people
  21. tube — a container
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  24. pit — in a race

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