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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.

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: wind · cabinet · tube · net · roll · squash · mine · file

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wind — moving air
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wind — moving air
  5. squash — to crush
  6. roll — a cake
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. net — after costs
  9. roll — a list
  10. file — a document
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. squash — the sport
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. net — for catching
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tube — a container
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. net — in sport
  21. tube — the underground
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. file — a tool

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