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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: cell · squash · wind · craft · cap · file

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. craft — a skill
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. file — a document
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. file — a line of people
  12. craft — boats
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. file — a tool
  16. cell — in biology
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cell — in a prison

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