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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
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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: fork · cold · field · wind · last · fan · leaves · march

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wind — moving air
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. march — music
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. field — farmland
  24. last — to go on

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