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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: wake · arm · march · file · bay · bore · row · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. file — a tool
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. file — a document
  20. bore — to tire
  21. file — a line of people
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wake — a trail

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