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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: sharp · file · nail · capital · march · saw · hide · bulb

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bulb — for light
  4. capital — a city
  5. march — music
  6. sharp — clever
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. file — a line of people
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a document
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — the month
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. file — a tool
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. nail — for a hammer

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