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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 120 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: sharp · file · present · shower · mine · spell · cap · bank

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. present — a gift
  10. shower — rain
  11. present — there
  12. bank — for money
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. file — a document
  15. cap — a hat
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. file — a tool
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spell — letters
  21. file — a line of people
  22. present — the time now
  23. cap — of ice
  24. mine — an explosive

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