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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. staff — employees
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. snap — to click
  5. fall — to drop
  6. staff — employees
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. staff — a stick
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. file — a document
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fall — to drop
  19. roll — a list
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fall — the season
  23. deal — to handle
  24. file — a 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