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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 · race · file · bass · wind · net · chair · toast

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. kid — child
  3. file — a document
  4. net — for catching
  5. race — the arms race
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. net — in sport
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. file — a tool
  10. race — humankind
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bass — low music
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wind — moving air
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. toast — bread
  24. net — after costs

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