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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: chair · file · season · branch · tube · saw · plane · land

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. land — a country
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. tube — the underground
  10. land — ground
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — a container
  15. land — to come down
  16. saw — the tool
  17. plane — a tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. branch — a division
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. branch — of a tree

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