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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: file · hand · land · drill · can · cell · racket · fine

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. drill — a practice
  3. can — a tin
  4. fine — all right
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fine — high quality
  9. land — a country
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. file — a line of people
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. hand — in cards

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