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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. rash — a series
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rash — hasty
  6. ground — a position
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. swing — music
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. swing — in golf
  11. clip — to cut
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. toast — bread
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. snap — to click
  20. ground — crushed
  21. swing — to play on
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. clip — a video
  24. calf — of the leg

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