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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: cold · calf · pop · jam · roll · row · march · file

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. row — to paddle
  3. file — a tool
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pop — soda
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. cold — an illness
  9. file — a document
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. march — music
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. march — the month
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cold — not warm
  17. march — the month
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — a cake
  20. row — a line
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. file — a line of people
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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