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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 116 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: file · march · row · plane · staff · rest · mine · wind

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. staff — employees
  3. row — a line
  4. file — a tool
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rest — a break
  7. plane — a tool
  8. mine — for digging
  9. file — a document
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. staff — a stick
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. rest — what's left
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rest — what's left
  18. march — music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. staff — employees
  21. march — the month
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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