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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. craft — boats
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. hand — help
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. tube — a container
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. file — a document
  17. pitch — completely
  18. craft — a skill
  19. tear — to rip
  20. row — to paddle
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hand — in cards
  24. row — a line

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