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

Word bank: race · wound · racket · kick · file · scale

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. scale — in music
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. scale — size or range
  5. file — a tool
  6. race — the arms race
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. file — a document
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. race — humankind
  13. file — a line of people
  14. race — a contest
  15. wound — an injury
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — in football

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