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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.

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: file · shower · bass · fork · net · straw · pass · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. bass — low music
  4. pass — a permit
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. shower — to wash
  8. net — in sport
  9. file — a tool
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. can — a tin
  13. shower — rain
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. file — a document
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. net — for catching
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. net — after costs
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bass — the fish

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