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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: file · lean · date · roll · mug · root · march · wound

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. march — music
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. march — the month
  6. mug — a face
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a document
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. root — of a plant
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. wound — an injury
  13. date — the fruit
  14. mug — a cup
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. file — a tool
  18. mug — to rob
  19. root — the cause
  20. lean — thin
  21. march — the month
  22. lean — to bend
  23. root — of a word
  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