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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bank · chair · present · fork · file · hide

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. present — a gift
  4. chair — a leader
  5. present — the time now
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. file — a document
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bank — of a river
  17. file — a line of people
  18. present — there

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