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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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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 · wound · straw · race · net · squash · spell · ruler

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. file — a tool
  3. net — after costs
  4. wound — an injury
  5. file — a document
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. race — humankind
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spell — letters
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. spell — magic
  16. squash — the sport
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. file — a line of people
  20. squash — to crush
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spell — a short time
  24. squash — the vegetable

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