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

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. race — humankind
  3. bass — the fish
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. cap — a hat
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. squash — the sport
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. file — a tool
  16. cap — of ice
  17. file — a document
  18. bass — low music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. squash — to crush
  23. file — a line of people
  24. drill — army training

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