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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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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: chest · chip · cold · track · bank · pit · fork · trunk

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fork — in a road
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bank — for money
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. track — to keep track
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. track — a path
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bank — for money
  20. cold — not warm
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pit — a hole
  23. track — a song
  24. bank — of a river

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