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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: wind · cap · press · deal · file · spring

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. press — a publisher
  3. file — a tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. press — newspapers
  6. file — a line of people
  7. spring — the season
  8. cap — of ice
  9. spring — of water
  10. press — to push
  11. file — a document
  12. cap — a lid
  13. deal — to handle
  14. spring — a coil
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air

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