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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 116 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 · staff · saw · rash · mouse · perch · cell · land

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. land — to come down
  6. race — the arms race
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. land — ground
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. perch — the fish
  11. staff — employees
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. race — a contest
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. race — humankind
  18. staff — employees
  19. land — a country
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. staff — a stick
  22. rash — a series
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. perch — for a bird

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