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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. suit — in cards
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — clothes
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. file — a line of people
  9. march — music
  10. capital — money
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. drill — army training
  16. file — a document
  17. object — an aim
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. object — to protest
  21. march — the month
  22. drill — the tool
  23. object — a thing
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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