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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: rest · bass · file · drill · craft · last · wound · tear

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. craft — boats
  3. last — finally
  4. file — a document
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. drill — army training
  8. bass — low music
  9. drill — a practice
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — what's left
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tear — to rip
  16. file — a tool
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. drill — the tool
  19. last — final
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. craft — a skill
  23. tear — from crying
  24. file — a line of people

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