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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. hand — in cards
  6. root — of a word
  7. march — music
  8. band — a ring
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. rush — hurry
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. march — the month
  18. root — the cause
  19. hand — help
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. band — a music group
  23. march — the month
  24. fork — in a road

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