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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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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: fall · game · mine · content · march · saw · foot · lash

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. content — the amount
  3. game — wild animals
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. mine — for digging
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — to drop
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. march — music
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. content — happy
  16. saw — the tool
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. saw — the tool
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. fall — to drop
  21. foot — a measure
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. game — a match
  24. foot — the bottom

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