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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: leaves · march · fan · row · wound · spell · firm · file

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spell — magic
  3. file — a tool
  4. spell — letters
  5. firm — steady
  6. wound — an injury
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. firm — a company
  11. march — the month
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. march — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — a line
  16. firm — decided
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. file — a document
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. row — to paddle

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