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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bank — of a river
  4. file — a document
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — to handle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bank — for money
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cap — a lid
  12. row — a line
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bank — for money
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. rest — a break
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cold — an illness
  24. file — a tool

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