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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chest · club · plane · mine · wave · spring · lean

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. file — a tool
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. spring — of water
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lean — thin
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. club — a group
  11. file — a document
  12. mine — for digging
  13. spring — the season
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. spring — a coil
  16. club — for golf
  17. chest — of your body
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. lean — to bend
  21. plane — a tool
  22. chest — a box
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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