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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: arm · snap · rush · drill · clip · swing · suit · file

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rush — hurry
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. suit — to fit
  6. file — a line of people
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. drill — a practice
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. suit — clothes
  11. swing — to play on
  12. drill — army training
  13. swing — music
  14. drill — the tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. snap — to click
  18. clip — to cut
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. suit — in cards
  23. swing — in golf
  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