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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: bass · pit · file · ground · race · pitcher · fork · saw

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. race — a contest
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ground — the earth
  6. file — a document
  7. pit — in a race
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. race — humankind
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bass — low music
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ground — a position
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bass — the fish
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fork — in a road

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