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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. squash — the sport
  3. stand — to bear
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wind — moving air
  9. drill — the tool
  10. kid — child
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. drill — army training
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wind — moving air
  23. file — a document
  24. kid — to tease

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