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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. file — a tool
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. drill — army training
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. file — a document
  8. tube — a container
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. board — to get on
  12. band — a music group
  13. drill — a practice
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. board — a committee
  16. file — a line of people
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. tube — the underground
  19. drill — the tool
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. sharp — clever
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. sharp — with an edge

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