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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 120 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: wind · pitcher · fan · race · file · sharp · pound · cell

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. file — a document
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. race — humankind
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. file — a line of people
  14. race — a contest
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cell — in biology
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cell — a phone
  21. sharp — clever
  22. file — a tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pound — a weight

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