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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cap — a lid
  7. file — a document
  8. rule — a law
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fine — high quality
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bank — for money
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bank — of a river
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fine — all right
  20. rule — government
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bank — for money
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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