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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: file · rock · arm · band · spell · race · staff · present

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. staff — a stick
  4. race — a contest
  5. present — a gift
  6. rock — music
  7. file — a tool
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. file — a line of people
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. staff — employees
  12. spell — letters
  13. band — a ring
  14. rock — a stone
  15. race — the arms race
  16. file — a document
  17. spell — a short time
  18. band — a music group
  19. present — there
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. staff — employees
  22. present — the time now
  23. spell — magic
  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