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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: pound · row · bat · file · clip · rock · last · mark

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. clip — for paper
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mark — a trace
  7. clip — a video
  8. pound — a weight
  9. last — to go on
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rock — music
  12. row — a line
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. last — finally
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rock — a stone
  19. last — final
  20. mark — a grade
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bat — the animal
  24. mark — to pay attention

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