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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mate — a partner
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mate — a friend
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. tear — to rip
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. mate — to breed
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. craft — a skill
  13. firm — steady
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wind — moving air
  16. squash — to crush
  17. craft — boats
  18. file — a document
  19. squash — the sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — a company
  23. wind — moving air
  24. tear — from crying

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