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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. file — a document
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. plane — a tool
  5. row — a line
  6. court — of law
  7. file — a tool
  8. row — to paddle
  9. march — the month
  10. capital — money
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. capital — a city
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. file — a line of people
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. court — for sport
  21. lie — to recline
  22. court — of a king
  23. hand — in cards
  24. plane — an aircraft

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