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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: wound · trunk · bat · can · cold · bay · file · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. file — a document
  3. can — a tin
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wound — an injury
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. file — a tool
  16. can — to be able to
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bat — the animal

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