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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: mug · chest · hand · saw · stick · bulb · mine · file

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. hand — in cards
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mug — a face
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. hand — help
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bulb — for light
  14. file — a line of people
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. file — a document
  18. bulb — for light
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. chest — a box
  21. file — a tool
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — of a plant

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