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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: foot · temple · file · saw · net · clip · sharp · tear

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. tear — from crying
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — a video
  6. sharp — clever
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. saw — the tool
  10. net — for catching
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — in sport
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. clip — for paper
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. clip — to cut
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. file — a tool
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. tear — to rip
  24. foot — a measure

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