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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: season · kid · sharp · bay · perch · file · mate · tear

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. file — a line of people
  10. season — in sport
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. kid — child
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a partner
  22. season — of the year
  23. tear — from crying
  24. perch — for a bird

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