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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: roll · march · fine · file · pitcher · game · pop · cap

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. roll — a cake
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pop — to visit
  7. game — a match
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pop — soda
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fine — high quality
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. roll — a list
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fine — all right
  19. march — music
  20. file — a document
  21. march — the month
  22. pop — music
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. march — the month

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