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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: cold · craft · pound · mouse · sharp · mate · row · file

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a document
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mate — a friend
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. row — a line
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. craft — boats
  22. mate — to breed
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cold — an illness

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