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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: race · scale · wake · field · tube · lean · file · chair

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. field — a subject
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. wake — a trail
  7. file — a document
  8. race — a contest
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. file — a tool
  11. tube — a container
  12. lean — to bend
  13. chair — a leader
  14. scale — size or range
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. lean — thin
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. race — humankind
  19. scale — in music
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. file — a line of people
  22. race — the arms race
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. lean — to rest against

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