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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hide · squash · chair · plane · rush · race · cold · file

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. race — a contest
  3. rush — hurry
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. file — a tool
  8. squash — the sport
  9. file — a document
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. cold — not warm
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — to crush
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. plane — a tool
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. race — humankind
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. squash — the vegetable

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