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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · cabinet · rush · race · file · swing · branch · content

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. content — the amount
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. race — a contest
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. race — the arms race
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. file — a tool
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. swing — music
  21. race — humankind
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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