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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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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: mine · bowl · chip · file · leaves · wind · tear · rock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a document
  5. rock — music
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rock — a stone
  12. chip — for betting
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chip — to eat
  17. tear — to rip
  18. file — a line of people
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. file — a tool
  23. tear — from crying
  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