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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rash — hasty
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. file — a document
  7. land — ground
  8. file — a tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rest — what's left
  11. land — a country
  12. staff — a stick
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rash — a series
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. staff — employees
  17. hand — help
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rest — a break
  23. staff — employees
  24. pitch — a sports field

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