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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. key — in music
  4. pop — music
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. file — a document
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pass — a permit
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. drill — the tool
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. file — a tool
  15. key — for a lock
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pop — to visit
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. key — the most important part
  20. drill — a practice
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. drill — army training
  23. pop — soda
  24. file — a line of people

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