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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: rule · sharp · straw · file · date · perch · board · bat

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. date — the fruit
  3. sharp — clever
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. file — a document
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. board — a committee
  13. perch — the fish
  14. rule — a law
  15. file — a tool
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. board — to get on
  18. file — a line of people
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rule — government
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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