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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. file — a document
  3. row — a line
  4. bank — for money
  5. file — a tool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. craft — boats
  12. bat — the animal
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bank — of a river
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bank — for money
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. row — to paddle

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