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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: mate · rest · scale · bank · file · roll · race · pop

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bank — for money
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — music
  9. rest — a break
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bank — for money
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. race — a contest
  14. pop — soda
  15. race — humankind
  16. rest — what's left
  17. race — the arms race
  18. scale — size or range
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bank — of a river
  24. scale — in music

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