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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. land — ground
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stand — to bear
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. march — the month
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. snap — to click
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. march — music
  17. land — a country
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bark — to shout
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. march — the month
  22. land — to come down
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. roll — a cake

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