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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · row · file · foot · present · pass

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. 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. pass — a permit
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. present — a gift
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. file — a line of people
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. present — the time now
  10. row — a line
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. kid — to tease
  14. present — there
  15. row — to paddle
  16. file — a document
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. 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