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

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. craft — boats
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a tool
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. chest — a box
  12. file — a line of people
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pass — a permit
  15. craft — a skill
  16. file — a document
  17. drill — army training
  18. sharp — clever

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