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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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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: chest · file · spring · squash · race · roll · saw · mark

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. saw — the tool
  4. file — a document
  5. race — a contest
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. file — a line of people
  9. saw — the tool
  10. roll — a cake
  11. race — the arms race
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mark — a trace
  14. file — a tool
  15. squash — the sport
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. spring — the season
  18. race — humankind
  19. chest — a box
  20. roll — a list
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mark — a grade
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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