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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: present · race · cap · file · fall · scale · wake · cue

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. present — there
  3. cap — of ice
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — a gift
  6. wake — a trail
  7. scale — in music
  8. race — a contest
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fall — to drop
  11. file — a tool
  12. race — humankind
  13. scale — size or range
  14. fall — the season
  15. cap — a lid
  16. file — a document
  17. cue — a hint
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a signal
  24. file — a line of people

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