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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: mine · hand · nail · cap · file · foot · lash · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hand — in cards
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. spring — the season
  5. cap — a hat
  6. foot — a measure
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cap — a lid
  12. mine — for digging
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. file — a document
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. file — a tool
  20. cap — of ice
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. hand — help

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