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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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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: bark · pit · kid · sharp · kick · file · bat · craft

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. file — a line of people
  5. craft — a skill
  6. file — a document
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pit — in a race
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kid — child
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bark — to shout
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. file — a tool
  24. bark — of a tree

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