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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 116 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: chip · staff · tear · cabinet · fall · file

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. staff — employees
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. file — a tool
  6. chip — to eat
  7. file — a document
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. staff — employees
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fall — to drop
  12. file — a line of people
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. chip — for betting
  18. staff — a stick

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