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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: nail · spring · lean · chair · file · can · mine · field

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. field — farmland
  3. chair — a leader
  4. file — a document
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. field — a subject
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. can — a tin
  9. field — for sport
  10. mine — for digging
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. lean — thin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spring — of water
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. can — a tin
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chair — a professorship

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