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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. drill — army training
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bass — low music
  11. lean — thin
  12. file — a tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. hand — help
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bass — the fish
  19. drill — a practice
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. drill — the tool
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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