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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: fan · chair · stock · last · face · drill · file · bank

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. face — to point toward
  3. drill — a practice
  4. last — finally
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stock — shares
  8. last — final
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bank — for money
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. file — a document
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stock — goods
  15. file — a line of people
  16. last — to go on
  17. file — a tool
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bank — for money
  20. face — to confront
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bank — of a river
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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