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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · can · cold · straw · chip · stock · bear · trunk

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stock — goods
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chip — to eat
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — an illness
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bear — the animal
  14. can — a tin
  15. bear — the animal
  16. can — to be able to
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. can — a tin
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stock — shares
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bear — to put up with

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