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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
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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: land · can · tube · wound · bear · fan · file · mine

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. land — ground
  7. file — a document
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. tube — the underground
  11. land — to come down
  12. can — to be able to
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. can — a tin
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bear — the animal
  22. file — a tool
  23. wound — an injury
  24. land — a country

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