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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: race · court · pitcher · rule · file · hand · last · staff

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rule — government
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. last — to go on
  6. court — of law
  7. hand — in cards
  8. staff — employees
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a document
  12. staff — employees
  13. last — final
  14. race — a contest
  15. rule — a law
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. file — a tool
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. staff — a stick
  21. race — the arms race
  22. last — finally
  23. race — humankind
  24. hand — help

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