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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: bat · craft · rash · rule · mate · file · prune · toast

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. mate — a friend
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bat — the animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. prune — to trim
  10. file — a document
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. craft — boats
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. mate — to breed
  15. rule — a law
  16. toast — bread
  17. rash — hasty
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rash — a series
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rule — government
  24. file — a 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