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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 116 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. march — the month
  3. land — ground
  4. march — the month
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. land — to come down
  11. bear — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. wake — a trail
  14. march — music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wake — before a funeral

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