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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: band · arm · file · scale · saw · snap · rush · race

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. band — a ring
  2. file — a document
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — humankind
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. race — a contest
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. band — a music group
  16. saw — the tool
  17. file — a tool
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. snap — to click
  20. scale — in music
  21. file — a line of people
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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