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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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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: key · cell · wind · file · wake · cold

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. cell — a phone
  3. key — for a lock
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. key — in music
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cold — not warm
  10. file — a tool
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cell — in biology
  14. key — the most important part
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cold — an illness

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