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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mug — a cup
  3. row — a line
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. file — a tool
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. swing — to play on
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. tear — to rip
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mug — to rob
  14. swing — music
  15. file — a document
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pass — a permit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. mug — a face
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. swing — in golf

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