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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. court — of law
  3. file — a document
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. court — of a king
  15. ground — a position
  16. file — a line of people
  17. ground — the earth
  18. branch — a division
  19. court — for sport
  20. row — a line
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. row — to paddle

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