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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: file · hand · race · sharp · deal · bat · leaves · present

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. file — a line of people
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. race — the arms race
  13. deal — to handle
  14. race — a contest
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — the animal
  17. present — a gift
  18. race — humankind
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. hand — help
  22. file — a tool
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. hand — in cards

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