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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bank — for money
  3. ground — the earth
  4. file — a line of people
  5. track — a song
  6. chip — for betting
  7. ground — a position
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bank — of a river
  10. file — a document
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. track — a path
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stem — to come from
  16. track — to keep track
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. file — a tool
  19. band — a music group
  20. bank — for money
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. ground — crushed
  23. chip — to eat
  24. band — a rubber band

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