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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 · cold · key · file · racket · craft · pound · pitcher

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. craft — a skill
  4. key — in music
  5. file — a document
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. march — the month
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. file — a tool
  15. march — music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. key — the most important part
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. march — the month
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pound — a weight

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