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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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Word bank
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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: season · race · content · row · mine · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. content — the amount
  3. file — a line of people
  4. content — happy
  5. season — of the year
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. race — the arms race
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. mine — for digging
  14. file — a document
  15. season — in sport
  16. race — humankind
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. race — a contest

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