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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: march · mine · wind · racket · stand · toast · fan · spring

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. march — the month
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stand — to bear
  7. toast — bread
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — of water
  18. march — music
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. spring — the season
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. wind — moving air
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. spring — a coil

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