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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. row — to paddle
  3. march — the month
  4. saw — the tool
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. perch — the fish
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. file — a tool
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. file — a line of people
  17. row — a line
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. saw — the tool
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. file — a document
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. march — music

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