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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rush · bass · file · pit · hand · chest · bank · race

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — in a race
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bass — low music
  11. bank — for money
  12. race — the arms race
  13. file — a document
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chest — a box
  16. bank — for money
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. hand — help
  24. file — a tool

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