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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cap — a hat
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. race — a contest
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — a lid
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cap — of ice
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — to eat
  14. race — humankind
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. race — the arms race
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. file — a line of people
  24. squash — to crush

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