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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. ground — a position
  8. race — the arms race
  9. file — a document
  10. row — a line
  11. file — a tool
  12. club — a group
  13. court — of a king
  14. club — for dancing
  15. row — to paddle
  16. race — humankind
  17. ground — the earth
  18. club — for golf
  19. staff — employees
  20. ground — crushed
  21. court — for sport
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — of law
  24. row — a quarrel

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