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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: wind · cell · craft · net · file · cold · pit · fan

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — after costs
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. file — a tool
  8. cold — an illness
  9. net — in sport
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pit — in a race
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — in biology
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — not warm
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a handicraft

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