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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: chest · row · cabinet · fall · bore · march · deal · file

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — the month
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. chest — of your body
  8. file — a document
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. file — a tool
  12. chest — a box
  13. fall — the season
  14. march — music
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. march — the month
  17. row — a line
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. file — a line of people

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