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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: mine · cold · bank · chip · jam · stand · trunk · chest

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chest — a box
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bank — of a river
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bank — for money
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. stand — to bear
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. chest — of your body
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. mine — for digging
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chip — to eat
  24. jam — a tight spot

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