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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rash — hasty
  4. march — the month
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. snap — to click
  9. clip — a video
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. file — a document
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. file — a line of people
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. staff — employees
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. march — music
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. rash — a series
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. file — a tool
  22. rush — hurry
  23. clip — for paper
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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