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

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. wind — moving air
  3. staff — a stick
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. field — for sport
  6. file — a tool
  7. content — the amount
  8. file — a line of people
  9. field — a subject
  10. staff — employees
  11. cap — a lid
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wound — an injury
  14. staff — employees
  15. bank — of a river
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — for money
  19. content — happy
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cap — a hat
  22. field — farmland
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bank — for money

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