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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. saw — the tool
  9. board — to get on
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. band — a music group
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. march — the month
  21. wake — a trail
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — a flat piece
  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