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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. field — for sport
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. field — farmland
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. clip — a video
  8. dip — to sink
  9. rest — what's left
  10. clip — for paper
  11. squash — the sport
  12. staff — a stick
  13. clip — to cut
  14. file — a tool
  15. rest — a break
  16. file — a document
  17. squash — to crush
  18. field — a subject
  19. staff — employees
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. staff — employees
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. rest — what's left

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