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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: wind · trunk · file · rash · chip · leaves · snap · land

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rash — hasty
  4. chip — for betting
  5. file — a document
  6. land — to come down
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. snap — to click
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. rash — a series
  16. wind — moving air
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. file — a tool
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. chip — to eat
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. file — a line of people

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