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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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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. stand — to bear
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. snap — to click
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pass — a permit
  16. kid — to tease
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. march — the month
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kid — child
  21. last — final
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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