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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 120 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: mouse · swing · ruler · cabinet · file · last · race · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — to go on
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. file — a line of people
  5. last — final
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — to play on
  8. race — the arms race
  9. march — music
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. file — a document
  14. race — humankind
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. swing — in golf
  17. race — a contest
  18. last — finally
  19. file — a tool
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. swing — music
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. ruler — for measuring

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