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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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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: pit · field · chip · bank · clip · fan · wind · cell

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bank — of a river
  6. clip — a video
  7. bank — for money
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pit — in a race
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pit — a hole
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chip — for betting
  18. field — farmland
  19. chip — to eat
  20. field — a subject
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — for sport
  24. bank — for money

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