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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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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: bowl · lean · rock · fan · file · hand · saw · march

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. lean — thin
  4. rock — music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a line of people
  8. march — the month
  9. saw — the tool
  10. file — a document
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. saw — the tool
  13. march — music
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. file — a tool
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — help
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. lean — to bend

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