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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · rash · rest · sharp · mine · file · arm · content

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. sharp — clever
  4. rest — what's left
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. file — a line of people
  12. march — the month
  13. file — a document
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. content — the amount
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. rash — hasty
  18. march — music
  19. file — a tool
  20. content — happy
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rash — a series
  23. march — the month
  24. rest — a break

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