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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: cold · file · chip · degree · cap · bank · safe · land

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cap — a hat
  3. file — a document
  4. chip — for betting
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — an illness
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cap — a lid
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bank — for money
  14. file — a tool
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. land — to come down
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bank — of a river
  24. safe — a strongbox

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