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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: foot · lie · race · last · file · mine · fan · drill

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. lie — to recline
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. foot — a measure
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. drill — army training
  13. last — to go on
  14. drill — the tool
  15. race — humankind
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. last — finally
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. last — final
  24. drill — a practice

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