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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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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: cap · lean · row · mate · pop · file · scale · land

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cap — a hat
  3. land — ground
  4. row — to paddle
  5. land — to come down
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cap — of ice
  9. file — a tool
  10. pop — soda
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pop — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. lean — thin
  15. file — a document
  16. row — a line
  17. cap — a lid
  18. scale — in music
  19. lean — to bend
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — a country
  24. mate — a friend

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