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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: lean · season · plane · capital · row · chest · file · hand

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — a line
  3. season — of the year
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. file — a document
  9. plane — a tool
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — in sport
  12. file — a line of people
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. lean — to bend
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. file — a tool
  18. capital — money
  19. row — to paddle
  20. capital — a city
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. chest — a box
  23. lean — thin
  24. chest — of your body

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