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

Word bank: bowl · firm · march · lash · capital · fall · row · file

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. capital — a city
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. capital — money
  7. fall — to drop
  8. file — a document
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a line of people
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — decided
  13. fall — the season
  14. firm — steady
  15. file — a tool
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. row — a line
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. march — music
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. row — to paddle
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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