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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a tool
  8. mine — for digging
  9. drill — army training
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. current — happening now
  13. wax — to grow
  14. chip — to eat
  15. current — electric
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. current — of water
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bank — for money
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bank — of a river
  24. mine — an explosive

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