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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: roll · file · cell · spring · wind · chair

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cell — in biology
  5. spring — of water
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. file — a document
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. roll — a cake
  14. cell — a phone
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wind — moving air
  17. roll — a list
  18. spring — the season

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