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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: cap · race · file · clip · suit · game · hand · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. mate — to breed
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. race — the arms race
  7. game — wild animals
  8. file — a document
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — a video
  11. cap — a hat
  12. file — a tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. file — a line of people
  15. race — a contest
  16. hand — help
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — to fit
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mate — a partner
  22. game — a match
  23. race — humankind
  24. suit — in cards

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