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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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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: perch · club · race · rock · tube · file · cold · key

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. race — humankind
  3. key — the most important part
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. club — a group
  6. tube — the underground
  7. file — a line of people
  8. race — a contest
  9. club — for golf
  10. tube — a container
  11. club — for dancing
  12. race — the arms race
  13. file — a tool
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. key — for a lock
  19. file — a document
  20. key — in music
  21. perch — the fish
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. rock — music
  24. cold — an illness

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