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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 · file · wind · charge · branch · roll · cold · racket

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. charge — in control
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. deal — to handle
  5. charge — a price
  6. file — a line of people
  7. roll — a list
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — not warm
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. roll — a cake
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. charge — electricity
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. branch — a division
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — an illness
  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