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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.

Words on the sheet
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: fall · calf · chest · drill · march · ground · fan · band

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chest — a box
  5. ground — the earth
  6. march — the month
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. drill — the tool
  10. march — the month
  11. drill — army training
  12. march — music
  13. band — a music group
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fall — to drop
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fall — the season
  21. band — a ring
  22. ground — a position
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. calf — of the leg

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