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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. file — a tool
  3. last — final
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. file — a document
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. race — a contest
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mate — to breed
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bank — of a river
  16. last — finally
  17. bank — for money
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bank — for money
  23. last — to go on
  24. race — the arms race

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