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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rock · game · rash · file · fall · hand · pitch · race

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fall — the season
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. race — a contest
  5. game — a match
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rock — music
  11. hand — help
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fall — to drop
  14. race — humankind
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rock — a stone
  17. hand — in cards
  18. file — a document
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rash — a series
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. game — a kind of play

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