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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. rule — government
  3. file — a document
  4. club — for dancing
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. file — a tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. club — for golf
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. face — to point toward
  17. club — a group
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. fall — the season
  20. face — to confront
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pitch — completely

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