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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: craft · can · bound · file · leaves · face · land · kid

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. craft — boats
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. bound — tied together
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bound — certain
  9. can — to be able to
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bound — obliged
  14. face — to point toward
  15. land — to come down
  16. can — a tin
  17. kid — to tease
  18. can — a tin
  19. face — to confront
  20. craft — a skill
  21. face — part of the head
  22. file — a tool
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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