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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: cabinet · perch · race · squash · content · date · file · last

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. content — happy
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. race — a contest
  8. content — the amount
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — the sport
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. file — a line of people
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. last — to go on
  20. perch — the fish
  21. race — humankind
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. squash — to crush
  24. date — the fruit

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