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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. pass — a permit
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. rash — a series
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. drill — the tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. clip — to cut
  13. file — a tool
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. clip — a video
  17. drill — army training
  18. rash — hasty
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. drill — a practice
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — for paper
  24. file — a document

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