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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · file · hand · bowl · fine · track · chair · mine

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. track — a path
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. track — a song
  9. hand — help
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fine — high quality
  20. hand — in cards
  21. file — a tool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. chair — to sit on

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