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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 116 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: cold · file · bank · track · field · rock · bat · rule

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bank — for money
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bank — for money
  5. file — a document
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. file — a tool
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rule — a law
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rock — music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bank — of a river
  24. track — a song

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