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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: lean · file · march · race · fan · pitcher · spell · land

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. race — a contest
  3. march — the month
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. march — the month
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spell — letters
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. march — music
  12. file — a document
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. spell — magic
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. land — to come down
  18. spell — a short time
  19. file — a line of people
  20. race — humankind
  21. lean — thin
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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