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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · wind · march · tear · present · court

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. court — of law
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of a king
  5. present — the time now
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tear — from crying
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — there
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. court — for sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. march — music
  18. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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