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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 120 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: row · stick · march · kid · race · fan · file · perch

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. march — the month
  5. race — the arms race
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. file — a document
  9. march — music
  10. file — a tool
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. race — a contest
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. race — humankind
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. file — a line of people
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. march — the month

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