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

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. race — a contest
  3. bank — for money
  4. file — a tool
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. race — the arms race
  7. last — to go on
  8. lean — thin
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. scale — in music
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lean — to bend
  15. last — finally
  16. file — a line of people
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bank — for money
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bank — of a river
  21. scale — size or range
  22. last — final
  23. race — humankind
  24. file — a document

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