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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.

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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 · rush · wound · sharp · coach · bat · ball · firm

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. firm — steady
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rush — hurry
  9. firm — a company
  10. file — a document
  11. firm — decided
  12. wound — an injury
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. ball — a great time
  20. file — a tool
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ball — a round shape

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