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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: present · race · cap · file · fall · scale

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. fall — the season
  4. race — humankind
  5. cap — a lid
  6. present — a gift
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — the arms race
  10. scale — in music
  11. cap — a hat
  12. file — a tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a document
  15. race — a contest
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cap — of ice

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