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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: march · file · row · stem · court · stick · hide · squash

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. file — a tool
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. court — for sport
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. court — of a king
  10. squash — to crush
  11. row — a line
  12. march — the month
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. row — to paddle
  15. court — of law
  16. march — music
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stem — to come from
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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