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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. prune — to trim
  3. file — a line of people
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. prune — to trim
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. sharp — clever
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. net — after costs
  16. mine — for digging
  17. file — a document
  18. prune — the fruit

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