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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: file · march · mine · fine · lean · roll · hide · dip

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fine — high quality
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. roll — a list
  7. march — the month
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. lean — to bend
  10. file — a tool
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. mine — for digging
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. march — the month
  16. fine — all right
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. file — a document
  19. dip — to sink
  20. roll — a cake
  21. file — a line of people
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. march — music

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