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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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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: shower · staff · pass · arm · branch · file · game · track

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. track — a path
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. shower — to wash
  6. staff — employees
  7. track — a song
  8. file — a document
  9. track — to keep track
  10. file — a tool
  11. game — a match
  12. pass — a permit
  13. staff — a stick
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — rain
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. file — a line of people
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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