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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 116 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: file · pit · season · race · hand · rest · shower · land

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. season — in sport
  3. shower — rain
  4. rest — a break
  5. race — the arms race
  6. file — a tool
  7. land — ground
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pit — in a race
  10. hand — help
  11. file — a document
  12. race — a contest
  13. season — of the year
  14. file — a line of people
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. land — to come down
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. rest — what's left
  19. land — a country
  20. pit — a hole
  21. hand — in cards
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rest — what's left

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