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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. net — after costs
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spring — the season
  9. net — in sport
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. spring — of water
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. snap — to click
  15. rush — hurry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. net — for catching
  20. face — part of the head
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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