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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: ruler · scale · net · sharp · foot · clip · spring · file

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. spring — of water
  3. net — for catching
  4. foot — a measure
  5. spring — the season
  6. clip — to cut
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. file — a tool
  10. net — after costs
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. scale — in music
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. scale — size or range
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. net — in sport
  20. sharp — clever
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. spring — a coil

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