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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 116 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: file · kid · chip · pitcher · sharp · tear

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. file — a document
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. tear — to rip
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. kid — to tease
  8. file — a tool
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chip — to eat
  11. kid — child
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. tear — from crying
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pitcher — a jug

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