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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 116 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 · row · bass · kick · file · snap · clip · march

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. clip — to cut
  3. file — a document
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. file — a tool
  7. clip — a video
  8. row — a line
  9. march — the month
  10. row — to paddle
  11. clip — for paper
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bass — low music
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. march — music
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. march — the month
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bass — the fish

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