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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: file · stock · bank · wave · cold · vault · spell · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cold — not warm
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stock — shares
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. spell — magic
  12. chair — a leader
  13. spell — letters
  14. file — a tool
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bank — for money
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. stock — goods
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. file — a document

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