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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: branch · file · game · cell · cap · club · wind · spring

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cap — a hat
  7. branch — a division
  8. file — a line of people
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. spring — of water
  13. cell — a phone
  14. spring — a coil
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. club — a group
  17. cell — in biology
  18. file — a tool
  19. game — wild animals
  20. file — a document
  21. club — for golf
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. game — a match

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