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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: land · hand · file · sharp · fan · lie · field · saw

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. land — ground
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. saw — the tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. land — a country
  7. field — for sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. hand — help
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. land — to come down
  13. sharp — clever
  14. field — farmland
  15. saw — the tool
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. field — a subject
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. file — a tool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. file — a document
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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