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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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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: cap · sharp · stick · cold · tear · bank · file · bowl

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. sharp — clever
  3. tear — to rip
  4. file — a document
  5. cap — a hat
  6. file — a line of people
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cap — of ice
  16. file — a tool
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bank — for money
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bowl — to roll

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