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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 · bank · sharp · file · scale · swing · race · last

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. file — a tool
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bank — for money
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. march — the month
  10. scale — size or range
  11. swing — in golf
  12. race — the arms race
  13. last — finally
  14. march — music
  15. bank — for money
  16. race — a contest
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. swing — to play on
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bank — of a river
  22. scale — in music
  23. race — humankind
  24. swing — music

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