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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 120 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: lean · saw · hand · tube · file · mine · row · charge

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. lean — to bend
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mine — for digging
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. file — a document
  14. tube — the underground
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. charge — in control
  17. hand — help
  18. row — a line
  19. charge — electricity
  20. charge — a price
  21. row — to paddle
  22. hand — in cards
  23. file — a tool
  24. tube — a container

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