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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 · net · perch · cell · file · last · march · roll

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. file — a tool
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. march — the month
  7. net — in sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. file — a line of people
  12. march — the month
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. net — for catching
  16. cell — in biology
  17. file — a document
  18. net — after costs
  19. sharp — clever
  20. march — music
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — a cake

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