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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: coach · chest · saw · lean · pit · file · plane · hand

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. lean — thin
  3. plane — a tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. file — a document
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hand — help
  12. chest — of your body
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. hand — in cards
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pit — a hole
  19. file — a tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chest — a box
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. file — a line of people

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