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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: bank · wind · file · deal · cap · content

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. deal — to handle
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bank — for money
  5. content — happy
  6. bank — for money
  7. content — the amount
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. cap — a lid
  11. file — a tool
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cap — of ice
  15. file — a document
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bank — of a river
  18. content — videos and posts

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