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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 120 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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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 · shower · field · file · pitch · squash · ruler · kick

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. race — the arms race
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. file — a line of people
  7. field — farmland
  8. race — a contest
  9. squash — the sport
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. squash — to crush
  12. field — for sport
  13. race — humankind
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. kick — in football
  23. file — a document
  24. shower — to wash

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