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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · march · craft · mark · spring · wound · file · pitcher

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. march — music
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. file — a tool
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. file — a document
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bass — low music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. craft — a skill
  16. march — the month
  17. wound — an injury
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. craft — boats
  21. bass — the fish
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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