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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 116 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: sharp · lean · file · lie · hand · swing · chip · plane

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. lean — thin
  4. chip — to eat
  5. file — a document
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. file — a tool
  8. chip — for betting
  9. file — a line of people
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. plane — a tool
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. swing — to play on
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. hand — in cards
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. sharp — clever
  19. hand — help
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. swing — music
  22. lie — to recline
  23. swing — in golf
  24. plane — in geometry

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