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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: fan · season · track · game · cold · root · march · hand

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hand — in cards
  3. game — wild animals
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. march — the month
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. hand — help
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. march — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. season — in sport
  12. track — a path
  13. root — the cause
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. track — a song
  17. root — of a plant
  18. track — to keep track
  19. root — of a word
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cold — not warm
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — a match

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