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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: last · dip · hand · pitcher · spring · file · race · bay

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hand — in cards
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. spring — of water
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hand — help
  11. last — final
  12. file — a tool
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. spring — the season
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. file — a document
  19. race — the arms race
  20. last — finally
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. race — humankind
  23. last — to go on
  24. race — a contest

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