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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. chest — a box
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. last — to go on
  7. spell — a short time
  8. chest — of your body
  9. march — the month
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spell — letters
  14. march — the month
  15. mine — for digging
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bear — the animal
  23. spell — magic
  24. march — music

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