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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: file · deal · cap · wave · spell · straw · present · ground

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. ground — a position
  5. file — a document
  6. spell — letters
  7. cap — of ice
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. present — a gift
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. spell — magic
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. spell — a short time
  18. ground — the earth
  19. file — a tool
  20. present — there
  21. file — a line of people
  22. present — the time now
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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