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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. craft — a skill
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mate — a partner
  11. kid — child
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. shower — rain
  14. mate — a friend
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spell — magic
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bank — for money
  19. craft — boats
  20. mate — to breed
  21. spell — letters
  22. mine — for digging
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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