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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: spell · race · chest · fine · ball · sharp · file · cap

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. file — a tool
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cap — a hat
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cap — a lid
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fine — high quality
  10. file — a document
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. spell — letters
  13. sharp — clever
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. race — humankind
  18. cap — of ice
  19. race — a contest
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. race — the arms race
  22. fine — all right
  23. spell — magic
  24. chest — a box

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