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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 · roll · key · club · file · stick · march

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. roll — a list
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. key — the most important part
  5. march — the month
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. club — for golf
  10. cap — a lid
  11. lean — to bend
  12. march — the month
  13. key — in music
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. file — a document
  18. march — music
  19. roll — a cake
  20. key — for a lock
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — a group
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. roll — on a roll

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