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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 116 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 · wound · file · bear · sharp · shower · prune · lie

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. march — music
  5. sharp — clever
  6. shower — rain
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. prune — to trim
  12. march — the month
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. shower — to wash
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lie — to recline
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bear — the animal

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