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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cap — a hat
  6. file — a document
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cell — in biology
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. file — a line of people
  16. swing — music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a tool
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cell — a phone

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