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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: date · wound · sharp · rash · drill · mouse · trunk · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. file — a document
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. rash — a series
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. drill — a practice
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wound — an injury
  16. drill — army training
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rash — hasty
  23. file — a tool
  24. drill — the tool

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