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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: cold · stick · race · file · bore · ground · club · deal

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. ground — crushed
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. file — a document
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. file — a tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ground — the earth
  12. race — the arms race
  13. ground — a position
  14. bore — to drill
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. file — a line of people
  18. club — a group
  19. bore — to tire
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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