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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. file — a line of people
  4. present — there
  5. file — a document
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. content — happy
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. swing — in golf
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. sharp — clever
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. present — a gift
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. present — the time now
  18. content — the amount

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