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

Word bank: toast · arm · pass · game · snap · land · drill · cell

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. drill — army training
  6. snap — to click
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. land — ground
  12. game — a match
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. cell — a phone
  15. game — wild animals
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. land — a country
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. cell — in biology
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pass — a permit
  23. land — to come down
  24. arm — part of the body

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