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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: straw · tear · file · craft · content · court · wind · sharp

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wind — moving air
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. wind — moving air
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. content — the amount
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a tool
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. file — a document
  11. craft — boats
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tear — to rip
  16. content — happy
  17. court — for sport
  18. sharp — clever
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. court — of a king
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. court — of law
  23. craft — a skill
  24. tear — from crying

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