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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: ball · chest · file · staff · bowl · race · sharp · perch

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. race — a contest
  3. file — a tool
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. file — a line of people
  7. staff — a stick
  8. chest — of your body
  9. staff — employees
  10. chest — a box
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chest — of your body
  14. sharp — clever
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. staff — employees
  19. file — a document
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — humankind

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