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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: toast · prune · foot · file · roll · pit · spell · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. roll — a cake
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. spell — letters
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. file — a document
  10. spell — magic
  11. toast — bread
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. pit — in a race
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. foot — a measure
  18. pit — a hole
  19. roll — a list
  20. file — a tool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spell — a short time

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