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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: fan · roll · sharp · drill · fine · root · date · march

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. drill — a practice
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. date — the fruit
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. roll — a cake
  10. march — music
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fine — high quality
  17. root — of a plant
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. root — the cause
  21. march — the month
  22. fine — all right
  23. root — of a word
  24. drill — army training

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