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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 works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. firm — a company
  2. file — a line of people
  3. firm — decided
  4. branch — a division
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. kid — to tease
  9. file — a tool
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. rash — hasty
  15. race — a contest
  16. firm — steady
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. kid — child
  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