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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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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: pit · stem · sharp · drill · mine · file · race · rash

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. drill — a practice
  5. file — a tool
  6. rash — hasty
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. sharp — clever
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. pit — a hole
  19. rash — a series
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pit — in a race
  22. race — humankind
  23. file — a document
  24. drill — the tool

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