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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 116 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 · file · rash · cold · firm · stem · swing · wound

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wound — an injury
  4. swing — to play on
  5. firm — a company
  6. stem — to come from
  7. firm — decided
  8. file — a tool
  9. firm — steady
  10. cold — an illness
  11. file — a document
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rash — a series
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stem — of a plant

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