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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: present · mine · hand · file · wound · lean · hide · track

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. lean — thin
  5. track — a song
  6. file — a document
  7. wound — an injury
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — the time now
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. lean — to bend
  12. hand — help
  13. track — a path
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wound — an injury
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mine — for digging
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. present — there

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