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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: kid · drill · race · safe · file · lean · pass · sharp

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lean — to bend
  3. race — humankind
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lean — thin
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. file — a document
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. sharp — clever
  13. kid — child
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. drill — army training
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pass — a permit
  23. drill — the tool
  24. file — a tool

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