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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: cap · land · object · file · lean · wound · chest · bowl

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. file — a line of people
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. land — ground
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. object — to protest
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wound — an injury
  10. object — an aim
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — of your body
  13. land — a country
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. object — a thing
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. file — a tool
  23. lean — thin
  24. file — a document

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