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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bank — for money
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. file — a document
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bank — of a river
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fall — the season
  18. squash — the sport
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cell — a phone
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. file — a tool

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