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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. land — a country
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. band — a music group
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spring — the season
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. band — a ring
  22. kick — in football
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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