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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bank — for money
  3. kid — child
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. object — a thing
  6. bank — for money
  7. mine — for digging
  8. kid — to tease
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — to protest
  14. season — of the year
  15. chip — for betting
  16. file — a tool
  17. season — in sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bank — of a river
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. file — a document
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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