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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bound — certain
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bound — tied together
  6. file — a document
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. face — to confront
  10. fall — to drop
  11. land — ground
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mine — for digging
  15. land — a country
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fall — the season
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fall — to drop
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. file — a tool
  24. land — to come down

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