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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: cap · stand · spring · tube · wind · sharp · file · branch

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. cap — a lid
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. spring — of water
  7. branch — a division
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spring — the season
  13. tube — a container
  14. stand — to bear
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — a coil
  18. tube — the underground
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. file — a document
  24. wind — to turn a key

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