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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. band — a music group
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. band — a ring
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. degree — temperature
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wind — moving air
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. chip — for betting
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chip — to eat
  24. degree — an amount

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