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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. last — finally
  4. cap — a lid
  5. staff — a stick
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cap — of ice
  9. race — humankind
  10. court — for sport
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. staff — employees
  17. court — of law
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rush — hurry
  20. court — of a king
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. staff — employees

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