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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. mug — to rob
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mark — a trace
  14. pass — a permit
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. clip — a video
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. mark — a grade
  21. file — a document
  22. fork — in a road
  23. mug — a cup
  24. field — for sport

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