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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: chair · race · foot · perch · file · cabinet · squash · lash

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. race — humankind
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. squash — to crush
  6. race — a contest
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. file — a tool
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. foot — a measure
  20. file — a document
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. race — the arms race
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. perch — the fish

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