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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · race · fine · file · lean · ruler

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fine — all right
  3. lean — thin
  4. file — a document
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fine — high quality
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. race — humankind
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. race — a contest
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. race — the arms race
  16. file — a tool
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. file — a line of people

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