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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 can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. lean — thin
  3. file — a tool
  4. row — a line
  5. rest — a break
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — a hat
  10. file — a line of people
  11. chest — a box
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. file — a document
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lean — to bend
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rest — what's left
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — 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