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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: file · saw · fork · pitcher · net · band · rush · mine

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. file — a tool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. saw — the tool
  10. file — a document
  11. net — in sport
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. band — a music group
  15. mine — for digging
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rush — hurry
  18. net — after costs
  19. band — a ring
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fork — in a road
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. net — for catching
  24. rush — a thrill

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