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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. file — a tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. file — a document
  5. craft — a skill
  6. stem — to come from
  7. scale — size or range
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. scale — in music
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. file — a line of people
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly

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