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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · shower · sharp · file · net · craft · bass · staff

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. staff — employees
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. net — for catching
  6. staff — employees
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wound — an injury
  13. file — a tool
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bass — the fish
  16. net — after costs
  17. sharp — clever
  18. staff — a stick
  19. net — in sport
  20. craft — boats
  21. shower — to wash
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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