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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · hand · wind · capital · cap · current · net · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wind — moving air
  6. file — a tool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. capital — money
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — in cards
  11. net — for catching
  12. current — of water
  13. net — in sport
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. current — happening now
  16. cap — of ice
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. capital — a city
  20. hand — help
  21. net — after costs
  22. current — electric
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — a lid

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