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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: deal · cap · file · band · cue · chair · mine · wound

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cue — for pool
  9. deal — to handle
  10. band — a music group
  11. file — a tool
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cue — a signal
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. band — a ring
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — an explosive

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