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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: file · squash · bark · staff · drill · race · sharp · date

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. race — the arms race
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. squash — to crush
  6. drill — the tool
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. file — a tool
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. drill — army training
  14. staff — employees
  15. file — a document
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. drill — a practice
  18. squash — the sport
  19. file — a line of people
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. date — the fruit
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. date — on the calendar

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