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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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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: file · racket · content · perch · race · drill · row · chair

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. content — happy
  3. drill — the tool
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. drill — army training
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. file — a tool
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. perch — the fish
  16. row — a line
  17. drill — a practice
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chair — a leader
  21. race — humankind
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — the amount
  24. race — the arms race

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