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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. hand — help
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. hand — in cards
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. file — a tool
  9. content — happy
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. content — the amount
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. march — the month
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. file — a line of people
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. march — the month
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. snap — to click
  21. march — music
  22. saw — the tool
  23. file — a document
  24. saw — the 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