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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. key — for a lock
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. key — in music
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. last — final
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. key — the most important part

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