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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: file · mark · drill · race · tube · capital · mine · chest

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. file — a line of people
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — for digging
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mark — a grade
  10. drill — a practice
  11. race — a contest
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — a box
  15. race — the arms race
  16. file — a tool
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mark — a trace
  19. chest — of your body
  20. tube — a container
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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