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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: land · fan · straw · stand · present · last · march · tear

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. last — final
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. land — ground
  6. stand — to bear
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. last — to go on
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. march — the month
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. land — to come down
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. present — a gift
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — the month
  19. present — the time now
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. march — music
  22. last — finally
  23. tear — to rip
  24. land — a country

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