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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. march — the month
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. mug — to rob
  10. band — a music group
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. band — a ring
  16. mug — a face
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mark — a trace
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mine — for digging
  21. perch — the fish
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mark — a grade
  24. march — music

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