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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. file — a line of people
  3. rash — hasty
  4. file — a document
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. race — humankind
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mark — a trace
  9. race — the arms race
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rash — a series
  15. race — a contest
  16. saw — the tool
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. squash — the sport
  21. game — wild animals
  22. file — a tool
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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