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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 120 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: land · capital · bowl · pound · file · squash · prune · race

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. file — a document
  4. race — humankind
  5. capital — a city
  6. race — a contest
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pound — a weight
  10. race — the arms race
  11. capital — money
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — ground
  14. prune — to trim
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — to come down
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. land — a country
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. pound — for dogs

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