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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 · row · cap · rush · sharp · file · bowl · rock

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cap — of ice
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. march — music
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. file — a document
  10. rock — music
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. cap — a hat
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. rush — hurry
  16. march — the month
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. march — the month
  20. row — a line
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rock — a stone

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