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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: foot · bark · file · club · rush · sharp · wax · race

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. club — a group
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — clever
  8. file — a line of people
  9. club — for golf
  10. race — humankind
  11. foot — a measure
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. race — a contest
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. club — for dancing
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wax — to grow

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