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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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468
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: mate · land · game · tube · stand · fan · can · march

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mate — a friend
  4. land — to come down
  5. can — a tin
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. march — the month
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. tube — a container
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stand — to bear
  13. march — music
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — the month
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mate — to breed
  18. tube — the underground
  19. land — ground
  20. can — a tin
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. game — a match
  23. can — to be able to
  24. stand — on your feet

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