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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: cabinet · rush · file · cold · branch · spell · fine · hand

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fine — all right
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. branch — a division
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. file — a line of people
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. spell — letters
  9. hand — help
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. file — a tool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. file — a document
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rush — hurry
  24. spell — magic

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