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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: plane · deal · staff · file · race · rest · rule · kid

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. rest — a break
  4. race — the arms race
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. staff — a stick
  9. kid — to tease
  10. file — a document
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. file — a tool
  13. plane — a tool
  14. rest — what's left
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. staff — employees
  17. race — a contest
  18. rest — what's left
  19. kid — child
  20. file — a line of people
  21. deal — to handle
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. race — humankind

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