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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: sharp · kid · pitcher · file · track · safe · root · net

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. net — after costs
  5. file — a tool
  6. track — a song
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. file — a line of people
  9. kid — child
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. net — in sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. net — for catching
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. root — of a plant
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. root — the cause
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. file — a document
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. root — of a word
  24. sharp — with an edge

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