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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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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: march · last · charge · scale · swing · fan · fall · band

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. charge — in control
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. band — a ring
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. swing — music
  7. march — music
  8. band — a music group
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — in golf
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. charge — a price
  13. fall — the season
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. charge — electricity
  17. march — the month
  18. last — finally
  19. scale — in music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — to go on
  23. swing — to play on
  24. scale — size or range

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