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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. file — a document
  5. bank — for money
  6. spring — of water
  7. file — a tool
  8. rock — a stone
  9. spring — the season
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bank — of a river
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bank — for money
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. chip — for betting
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cold — not warm

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