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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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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: perch · race · row · file · firm · spring · cap · kid

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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. kid — child
  4. spring — of water
  5. race — the arms race
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. spring — the season
  9. firm — decided
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. perch — the fish
  13. file — a tool
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. race — a contest
  18. file — a document
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — a coil
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cap — of ice
  23. firm — a company
  24. firm — steady

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