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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: file · capital · saw · bear · ground · wind · degree · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bear — the animal
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — a city
  7. file — a document
  8. capital — money
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. ground — a position
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ground — the earth
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a tool
  21. ground — crushed
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. file — a line of people
  24. degree — from a university

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