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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: foot · kid · file · mine · arm · fine · sharp · row

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. row — a line
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. file — a document
  15. sharp — clever
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kid — to tease
  18. file — a tool
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. foot — a measure
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. kid — child
  24. row — to paddle

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