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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cap — a lid
  3. race — a contest
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. file — a document
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mark — a trace
  10. file — a line of people
  11. date — the fruit
  12. deal — to handle
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mark — a grade
  21. race — the arms race
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. race — humankind
  24. mark — to pay attention

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