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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: date · rest · tear · deal · bat · file · bound · net

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bound — certain
  5. date — the fruit
  6. file — a document
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. tear — from crying
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — the animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bound — tied together
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bound — obliged
  21. deal — to handle
  22. rest — what's left
  23. net — in sport
  24. rest — a break

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