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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: file · wound · race · ball · perch · straw · scale · stand

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. ball — a great time
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. race — humankind
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. file — a document
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ball — a dance
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. race — a contest
  15. file — a tool
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. scale — size or range
  18. stand — to bear
  19. scale — in music
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. file — a line of people
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. ball — a round shape
  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