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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: bank · mine · file · kid · rule · chest · patient · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. chest — a box
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bank — of a river
  6. file — a document
  7. bank — for money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rule — government
  13. bank — for money
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rule — a law
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. kid — child
  24. mine — belonging to me

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