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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 120 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: fall · coach · file · chest · chip · current · tear · foot

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tear — from crying
  4. foot — a measure
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chip — for betting
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chip — to eat
  12. file — a document
  13. fall — to drop
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. fall — the season
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. tear — to rip
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. chest — a box
  21. current — electric
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. current — of water

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