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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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Word bank
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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: wound · shower · sharp · file · net · craft

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wound — an injury
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. net — for catching
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. file — a line of people
  8. net — after costs
  9. shower — rain
  10. net — in sport
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. craft — boats
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. wound — an injury
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. shower — to wash

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