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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: bank · fan · cold · sharp · mine · chip · staff · hand

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. staff — a stick
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bank — for money
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bank — of a river
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mine — for digging
  10. staff — employees
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hand — help
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bank — for money
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. cold — not warm
  19. sharp — clever
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cold — the Cold War

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