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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. rule — government
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cold — an illness
  5. file — a tool
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. file — a document
  11. chip — to eat
  12. branch — a division
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. perch — the fish
  17. rule — a law
  18. toast — bread
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. staff — employees
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cold — the Cold War

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