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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: nail · squash · race · foot · land · tear · toast · file

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. file — a document
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. foot — a measure
  5. race — a contest
  6. squash — to crush
  7. race — the arms race
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. squash — the sport
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. file — a tool
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. tear — from crying
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. land — a country
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. toast — bread
  20. land — to come down
  21. race — humankind
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. file — a line of people

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