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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. march — the month
  3. clip — for paper
  4. march — music
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. march — the month
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. root — the cause
  14. band — a music group
  15. root — of a word
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. land — a country
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — to bear
  20. root — of a plant
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. land — ground
  23. clip — a video
  24. band — a ring

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