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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: mine · chest · sharp · prune · file · patient · nail · straw

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chest — of your body
  5. file — a tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. chest — a box
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a line of people
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mine — for digging
  22. prune — to trim
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. nail — for a hammer

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