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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: season · wake · race · fork · cabinet · chest · ground · file

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. race — the arms race
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. chest — of your body
  11. season — in sport
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. file — a tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — a contest
  16. fork — in a road
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chest — a box
  19. ground — a position
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. race — humankind
  24. file — a document

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