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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: ruler · file · ball · cold · track · pop · race · plane

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pop — soda
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. ball — a great time
  7. race — humankind
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ball — a dance
  10. track — to keep track
  11. race — a contest
  12. plane — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. track — a path
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. file — a tool
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. track — a song
  23. file — a document
  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