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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: cell · board · land · file · bank · stock · cold · craft

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. bank — for money
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stock — goods
  4. craft — boats
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — in biology
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bank — of a river
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bank — for money
  12. cold — not warm
  13. file — a document
  14. cell — a phone
  15. land — to come down
  16. stock — shares
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — to get on
  20. land — a country
  21. cold — an illness
  22. file — a line of people
  23. land — ground
  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