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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.

Make a worksheet

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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bank — for money
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. file — a tool
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a document
  12. bank — of a river
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. file — a line of people
  20. scale — in music
  21. pit — in a race
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. chair — a leader
  24. pit — a hole

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