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

Word bank: perch · file · squash · pit · arm · band · content · pass

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pass — a permit
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. band — a music group
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. band — a ring
  11. content — the amount
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. perch — the fish
  21. file — a document
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. content — happy
  24. pass — to succeed

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