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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: race · game · can · fork · saw · file · straw · cell

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. race — humankind
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. game — a match
  7. cell — in biology
  8. file — a tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. game — wild animals
  11. saw — the tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. race — the arms race
  14. can — a tin
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. can — to be able to
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. file — a line of people
  20. can — a tin
  21. race — a contest
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cell — a phone
  24. file — a document

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