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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. race — a contest
  4. spring — of water
  5. file — a document
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. saw — the tool
  9. kick — in football
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. race — humankind
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. race — the arms race
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. spring — a coil
  18. capital — money
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — a city
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kick — with a leg

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