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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: file · mate · land · straw · wind · lie · track · roll

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wind — moving air
  4. roll — a cake
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mate — a partner
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. file — a document
  9. track — a path
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. track — a song
  12. mate — a friend
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. land — to come down
  15. mate — to breed
  16. roll — a list
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wind — moving air
  21. track — to keep track
  22. land — a country
  23. lie — to recline
  24. land — ground

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