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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 · season · cue · nail · file · land · sharp · bay

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. file — a document
  4. march — music
  5. season — in sport
  6. cue — for pool
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. land — ground
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. sharp — clever
  12. season — of the year
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cue — a signal
  17. march — the month
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. march — the month
  20. cue — a hint
  21. file — a line of people
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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