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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. file — a tool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. hand — help
  6. file — a document
  7. hand — in cards
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. net — for catching
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. saw — the tool
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bark — to shout
  24. file — a line of people

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