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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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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 · race · face · cold · mouse · ruler · drill · swing

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. face — part of the head
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. face — to confront
  10. cold — an illness
  11. race — the arms race
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. file — a line of people
  14. swing — to play on
  15. drill — a practice
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. drill — army training
  18. file — a tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. swing — music
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. file — a document
  24. face — to point toward

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