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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. staff — employees
  3. race — humankind
  4. bass — low music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — the animal
  7. club — for dancing
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. staff — employees
  10. race — the arms race
  11. club — for golf
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spring — the season
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. staff — a stick
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. race — a contest
  19. club — a group
  20. spring — of water
  21. bass — the fish
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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