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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: fan · chest · race · squash · file · cabinet · drill · fall

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. file — a document
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. drill — army training
  8. file — a tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. chest — of your body
  12. squash — to crush
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. race — a contest
  16. file — a line of people
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. drill — the tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chest — a box
  21. race — humankind
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. drill — a practice
  24. chest — of your body

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